


Entwined

by Syao



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bottom Eren Yeager, Character Death, M/M, Shingeki no Kyojin Universe, Top Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Tragic Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-31
Updated: 2014-11-10
Packaged: 2018-02-23 08:31:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2541158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Syao/pseuds/Syao
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One would think mankind would learn from past mistakes and yet, history repeated it's self over and over again. Humans pointed fingers saying that human's greatest enemy was something other than them. When in fact mankind's greatest enemy is itself.<br/>A group of intelligent men formed a cult. Their purpose was to inform mankind that they were doing more harm to themselves than any other thing could and that if humankind could truly unite then they would prosper. However no one listened to them, they were shunned for their ideas and were cast away to rot. The men decided that without a push in the right direction humankind would continue in its never ending cycle of self-harm.<br/>That fated day mankind learned what true fear was, in the form of what humanity called titans. They made a country caged by walls made of what human's feared the most. If humankind could truly unite and learn that its worst enemy is itself, then only then will they be able to overthrow their fear, the titans.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Truth

**Author's Note:**

> This Fanfic is also on FanFiction.net by me under the pen-name Catyfun but I thought I would share it here as well. 
> 
> EDIT: This was supposed to be a multi-lifetime story about the multiple reincarnation lives of Levi and Eren. However it will only be this lifetime.
> 
> This is Cannon verse divergent written before the events that have transpired after chapter 51.
> 
> Yes this will be a yaoi (guyXguy), if you do not enjoy, you have every right to not read.
> 
> This story has a combination of romance, tragedy, adventure, and fantasy.
> 
> Rated Teen+ for gore, language, and sexual hints. No lemons, sorry.
> 
> I apologize if there are any spelling or grammar errors, this has no beta-reader.
> 
> I do not own Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin, Hajime Isayama does.  
> Enjoy!

_Forever in love, forever destined to be apart._

_**Chapter 1: The Truth** _

A slight mist clung around the abandoned buildings, now over grown and crumbling. There was not a single sign of life that inhabited this sorrowful town. Not a sound was heard but the shallow breaths and soft patter of running footsteps. The outlines of shadowy figures were faintly illuminated by the scarce rays of moon light that were able to pierce the dense clouds that blanketed the night sky.

The once great city of Shiganshina, was now empty, letting nature take its course of reconquering the land. Vines clung to the remains of stone buildings, as weeds and grasses covered the cobbled roads from sight. The cleaned remains of the unfortunate citizens what were unable to escape on that fated day littered the dark streets; a deadly reminder that humanity was not safe.

The figures moved swiftly through the town not stopping to reminisce on the past of fallen city. Their 3D maneuver gear was strapped down so that it would not make a sound as the small group of specially chosen survey corps made their way to their destination. Choosing to stay away from the ground, so that they had a better chance of escaping if things went wrong, the group stuck to the old, run-down roof tops.

A crunching of an old leaf froze the group in its tracks. They were deep in enemy territory with no back up, if they were caught, humanity would suffer a great loss. The mission was extremely risky; the outcome of this one mission could decide the fate of humanity. The group studied their surroundings searching for the owner of the noise. After a few tense moments a small brown rabbit hopped into the groups view, jumping on another leaf as it sniffed around for food.

Slightly relaxing his stiff body, Eren Yeager looked to his companions to continue. With a short nod, Captain Levi silently gave Eren permission to lead on. Glancing around one last time, Eren forced his anxious legs to move along the roofs of the familiar buildings. He set a swift pace, wanting to get out of the city that held his precious child hood memories. The small group reached a large gap in the buildings, a small stream gurgled quietly muffled by the wild river reeds and pampas grass. The stream separated the city center from the more residential part.

Forced to reach their destination on ground, the group leaped across the stream, heading toward a massive collapsed and burned part of the residential district. Memories from his childhood flooded Eren's mind, as the group noiselessly traced the rout Eren, Mikasa, and Armin knew oh-so well. Rounding the final corner, Eren slowed his pace coming to a halt before the collapsed two-story house. Eren could not tear his sea-green eyes away from the house he once called home.

_"Mikasa hurry!" Eren yelled; panic filled his voice._

_"I know!" Mikasa retorted, as both children tried to lift the heavy rafter beam that was crushing their mother's body. The titans were slowly flooding the city through the huge hole in the wall. Their mother Carla looked around frantically assessing the situation. Her long brown hair was tied loosely in a side ponytail and her golden eyes were dull with fear._

_"The titans are coming. Eren, take Mikasa and run." Carla shouted, as the two put all their effort into moving the beam. "Hurry!"_

_"I want to run! Hurry and get up!" Eren cried to the sky, his hands now a bloody mess from the jagged splinters of the wood. The beam was too heavy for the two children to lift._

_"My legs are crushed from the debris. Even if I got out I could not run. Do you understand?" She pleaded._

_Eren looked down at his mother in horror, her words stabbed his heart and tears threatened to roll down his cheeks. "I'll carry you and run!"_

_"Why don't you listen to what I say for once?" She screamed back, tears welling in her eyes. Mikasa realized that their efforts would be futile and she bent over silent tears staining the ground. "Please listen to me, just this one last time! Mikasa?"_

_"No…No" Mikasa pleaded, putting more strength into her lift one last time._

_"At this rate all three of us will…" Carla's voice trembled as she spoke, her eyes brightening slightly. The sound of a hook retracting from a 3D maneuver gear and the small thud of boots on cobble stone came from behind the children._

_"Hannes! Take the children and run"_

_"Don't take me so lightly, I will kill the titan and save all three of you." Hannes said before rushing off to the oncoming titan. Blade drawn, he stopped dead in his tracks as the titan looked down upon him; its twisted smile taunting the man's soul. Cursing under his breath, he rushed back to the children sheathing his weapon. Grabbing Mikasa in his right arm and hoisting Eren in his left, Hannes quickly ran off leaving Carla behind._

_"Hey Hannes! What the hell are you doing?" Eren cried, struggling to break free from the man's grip._

_"Thank you" Carla said lightly, as she watched her children go._

_"Mom is still trapped in there!" Eren turned back watching the distance between them grow farther apart._

_"Eren, Mikasa, Live on!" She screamed one last time._

_Eren watched on in horror as the titan with the twisted smile dug through the wreckage of his home, like a child searching for a toy in a toy box. Its smile grew wider as it found its prize and pulled Carla up out of the rubble._

_"Stop!" Eren wailed at the top of his lungs, as tears streamed freely down his face._

_The titan lifted her body high into the air in its iron grip and snapped her back in two. Her body stopped fighting and lay limp. She was then slowly raised up to its gaping mouth. Teeth clashed together as blood spilled down the titans chin onto his chest. Eren could not tear his fear stricken eyes away from the seen, as he watched his own mother be eaten by the titan._

A hand was gently placed on Eren's shoulder. He turned to look at Mikasa, her taupe eyes reflected the feelings he felt about the last time they were here. Her demeanor changed to a soft one, wordlessly telling him 'I feel your pain, but things will be ok.' Taking a small ragged breath to prepare himself for the worst, Eren treaded silently to the edge of his wrecked home. The collapsed roof had been torn apart in the center, rotting wood and crumbling shingles speckled the area. The piece of wall Maria that had initially crushed the house had been tossed to the edge, most likely the smiling titans doing. Somewhere buried beneath the destroyed house was his father's basement; the sole reason for this insane, small, utterly important night mission.

Eren hesitantly crossed the threshold of the battered house, followed by his three companions. They cautiously moved the debris blocking the stone stairs that led to basement; every movement was slow and careful. When the path to their objective was clear enough for them to fit, Eren gradually made his descent into the dark stairway. Hanji followed close behind, lighting a match so the group could see where they were going. In the poor flickering light that the match gave off, Eren was able to find the old oak door that separated them from the mysterious truth that the group was here to hopefully discover. He reached under his shirt pulling a long thin rope with the golden key attached to it; delicately fitting the key in the lock. The group held their breaths waiting to see if their plan was successful. The key smoothly turned in its socket as a soft click reverberated throughout the staircase. A wave of nervous adrenalin rushed over the group as the door swung open with a small push.

Musty stale air gently caressed the group's faces as they excitedly entered the room. Hanji produced a small torch from the recesses of her jacket, lighting it with the remains of the match. The soft light was distorted by the dust that clung to the air. The room was decent sized with a large table in the middle of it and a smaller one in the corner; dust covered every inch of the space. Hanji passed the torch to Mikasa as she rushed over to the small table in the corner; stacks of fading parchment were piled together. Mikasa and Levi hung near the entrance taking in the room, Levi mumbling under his breath about how dirty the room was. Eren strode over to the table in the center; there was something awfully familiar about it. Running a finger over the smooth surface he lifted it to his eyes to see it black from years of dust, Eren glanced down to the table top. His eyes widened in fear as old chemical and blood stains came into his focus. The gut wrenching pain flooded his mind as he grasped his head in his hands, falling to his knees letting out a blood chilling roar.

_Young Eren was strapped down to the table, his arms held above him as he lay still waiting for this father to finish. Eren's father was jotting down the last of his notes as he waited for the contents of a bubbling test tube to calm. His shoulder length brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, his glasses slipping off the edge of his nose. The contents of the tube fizzed down; he carefully picked up a new syringe, filling the vile with glowing green liquid. He calmly walked over to Eren, resting the tip of the needle above the crook of his arm. The older man pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose, the glass warping his excited eyes in the candle light. The needle broke Eren's skin pushing deeper into the veins ejecting the unnatural green liquid into his son's body. Eren lay there waiting for his father to finish. After a few seconds the vile had emptied its contents and the needle was withdrawn from his flesh._

_After a minute the liquid had been pumped all over his body, making Eren feel like all of his insides had been replaced with liquid fire; it was burning him from the inside. He withheld his cries of pain knowing it would lead to worst treatment if he cried out. His father studied him as he writhed in pain, held down by the restraints. Grabbing a knife, he cut Eren's wrist, taking note to how fast the wound closed up, letting the blood soak into the wood of the table. Cutting deeper, he repeated the action a few more times. Satisfied with the results he stabbed Eren's femoral vain. The blood gushed out pooling beneath his leg, as silent tears rolled down his face. The man watched as the wound slowly closed up leaving the skin smooth and untouched._

_He grinned, madness dancing in his eyes as he grabbed for another vile, this time full of a sickly orange liquid. Without warning he stabbed it into Eren's heart. Eren's body tensed up as the muscle took in all the chemicals. As soon as the vile was empty his body started to convulse violently, limbs thrashing against their restraints. His back arched up, head thrown back, eyes rolled into their sockets, as he let out a massive roar._

Levi rushed over to Eren the moment he noticed something was off with the young man. He was able to stifle Eren's roar almost as soon as it began. Levi's arms had wrapped around Eren's head, muffling the sound with his chest. Mikasa hurried to Eren's side trying to calm him down as Hanji looked up from her reading concern written on her face. Eren struggled in Levi's arms but his hold was too strong for the younger. Eren had to be quieted quickly or else they risked failing the whole mission.

After a few nerve racking moments Eren's muffled sounds fell silent. Leaning into Levi's embrace Eren took several shaky breaths trying to gain his composer. Breathing in Levi's sent eased Eren, leaving the young man puzzled. Why did Levi's smell of clean sheets and crisp morning air affect him so much? Why did his strong arms feel so warm and comforting? It made no sense to Eren why his cold, closed off captain was somehow making him feel an emotion that Eren never thought he would feel in this life time. It was small, but there. A spark started a miniature chain reaction in his heart. Eren realized that he had to put out the kindling flame before it engulfed his entire being.

Relief washed over him as his captain withdrew his arms. That was until he saw those supposedly monotone steel blue eyes softly peering at him full of concern. The kindling flame flared in his heart, making him wish for those arms to embrace him again.

Levi stared at Eren wondering what had triggered his sudden outcry. Noticing the new emotion that had flashed briefly in Eren's frightened and lost sea-green eyes. Hoping that it was just a flicker in the torch light, he backed away letting Mikasa quietly fret over the young man.

"Eren, what happened? Are you ok?" Mikasa inquired in a hushed voice.

"…yeah…" Eren mumbled, hesitantly looking back at the table that had triggered his subdued memories to return. "…Just I remember everything…from before…"

Everyone looked at him with questioning faces, waiting for him to explain. Eren reluctantly opened his mouth to explain, but was stopped by a boisterous squeal. Levi, Mikasa, and Eren glared at Hanji who had firmly clasped both her hands over her own mouth. Her excitement radiated off her body as if everything had clicked into place and she had to yell all the answers of the universe to all mankind.

"What the fuck?" Levi was practically seething hatred. Not only did Eren's outburst jeopardize the mission, Hanji was not helping by squealing over information.

"I know everything now!" Hanji frantically whispered, hugging a worn gray book close to her chest. Her goggles were steamed up and her face was flushed as if her biggest wet dream was coming true. They did not even have time to ask before she started to ramble.

"It's all in here! Everything we need to know! Everything! Oh man this is such a revelation! This is like my lifelong dream, all the answers human kind needs to know about everything!" She caressed the cover of the book like it was a newborn baby.

"Well are you going to enlighten us or are you going to continue to drool?" Levi asked in a low nonchalant manor.

"Oh yes!" Hanji opened the book with care like it would disintegrate if she made the wrong move; opening to a page she read quietly out loud.

"From the beginning of time mankind has always fought against something, whether it was wild predators or Mother Nature herself. In time humans evolved and adapted, no longer afraid of the land and its inhabitants. Humans ruled and over ran the land. With no other way to get out of the imbedded will to fight, humans turned against each other. Greed ruled the hearts of men as they sought to take what others had. Wars were fought over the smallest of things. One would think mankind would learn from past mistakes and yet, history repeated it's self over and over again. Humans pointed fingers saying that human's greatest enemy was something other than them. When in fact mankind's greatest enemy is itself.

A group of intelligent men formed a cult. There purpose was to inform mankind that they were doing more harm to themselves than any other thing could and that if humankind could truly unite then they would prosper. However no one listened to them, they were shunned for their ideas and were cast away to rot. The men decided that without a push in the right direction humankind would continue in its never ending cycle of self-harm.

The cult leader transformed him-self into an almost godly being with the power of dark science. From his blood they formed a special formula called Chemical X. Its properties turned a human into a mutated idea. The chemical changed them into the grotesque greedy creatures that the cult saw mankind as. They were made to feel eternal pain, with barely a mind other than the raw urge to kill humans in the most disrespectful way; they ate them. The cult formed another chemical that changed humans into superior versions of Chemical X. With this new chemical the cult leaders transformed themselves into superiors, before spreading Chemical X throughout mankind at once.

That fated day mankind learned what true fear was, in the form of what humanity called titans. They made a country caged by walls made of what human's feared the most. If humankind could truly unite and learn that its worst enemy is itself, then only then will they be able to overthrow their fear, the titans. " Hanji stopped reading and continued.

"You know what this means? Someone is controlling the titans and the titans are humans! Humans! If we could find a way to get our hands on this Chemical then we could make our own army or find a cure to reverse the affects. And maybe if we could take down this cult leader we could eradicate all the titans."

The group just stood there letting Hanji's words sink in.

"How does that explain Eren? What about Annie, Reiner, and Bertolt?" Mikasa final asked, breaking the silence.

"Well from what I understand Annie and company are working for this cult, and were probably given the superior titan chemical. Their Titan appearances and abilities are far greater than normal titans. I can only assume that they were trained by the cult to have control over their powers." She paused glancing at Eren.

"As for Eren…" Hanji trailed off, turning to grab the clustered stack of fading notes.

"I was created." Eren whispered, causing all eyes to settle on him.

"According to Eren's father's notes, he was one of the original founders of the cult, and he was given the same superior chemical as the other founders were." Hanji cut in, drawing the attention back to her. "When in titan form all ageing is stopped, allowing men to live for centuries. After a while of being in the cult he decided that the way the cult was taking action on human kind was wrong. He agreed that uniting Humankind would lead to prosperity; however it is in human nature to be unequal. Due to the theory of evolution, no one is the exactly the same. Someone will always be more gifted than others; whether it is in appearance, strength, stamina, agility, intellect, and so on. He believed that the way the cult was going about to press one ideal, that may be true but useless against humanity, was the wrong way. That by making humans into titans and have them fight humanity, was very hypocritical of what their true goal was.

He convinced the cult to let him settle in the walls as a spy to measure how far humankind has come to uniting. The cult allowed him to go and he left with crucial knowledge of the chemical formulas. He settled in Shiganshina, where he changed his name and appearance. He never used his titan form again. He devised a plan to counter the cult's ideals. If he was able to create something to fight back against the cult and win, then humanity could go back to what it was before however with the knowledge that mankind's worst enemy was itself.

After settling down with a wife, he decided to use their child as the counter to the cult. He spent years tweaking the chemical formula to get a titan form that did not listen to the leader, it was different then the other titans because its abilities come from the emotions the shifter feels; the stronger the emotions the stronger the titan. He spent years training the child to be a weapon against the cult."

The attention in the room shifted back to Eren, looks of shock and sympathy plastered on their faces.

"Oh Eren…" Mikasa said softly, pulling him into a small hug.

"It is ok Mikasa." Eren whispered his voice oddly monotone.

"How come you did not remember until now?" Levi questioned.

"My father gave me a shot of some sorts that suppressed all my memories when I was a small kid. It was right after we adopted Mikasa into our family; I had finished a titan training session when he came to me telling me stuff that I couldn't comprehend at the time. 'When the wall falls remember, you need to go to my basement, there will be the key to everything.' And what not. I did not know how to use my titan form back in Trost, yet my body remembered even if my brain could not." Eren stared down at his hands, his voice going oddly cold. "I was created for the soul propose of destroying the cult."

The group fell into silence once again letting Eren's cold words sink in. Finally Levi broke the silence once more.

"Hanji put away those documents; if we do not leave here soon we will not make it back to the horses in time."

The group prepared themselves to face the enemy once they left the confinements of the basement. They wordlessly made their way to the stair case, extinguishing the torch so that they would not attract unwanted attention and that their eyes could adjust to the dark once again. Levi led the way this time, as the group swiftly headed back out of the fallen city. The sky was ever so slowly lightening, signaling the group only had a few hours before the sun was up, and so were the titans.


	2. The Betrayal

_**Chapter 2: The Betrayal** _

The sun beat down on the landscape from its high perch in the center of the clear blue sky. The sounds of galloping hooves were drowned out by the thunderous sounds of pounding feet. Four cloaked figures on horseback trailed by a huge pack of titans appeared on the horizon. The riders had been nonstop trying to out run the mutated humans since the crack of dawn. One was soon joined by two, two was joined by ten, and ten turned into a never faltering pack. Their horses were losing speed fast, well over run from nearly a day of holding breakneck speeds. Rounding a grassy hill relief washed over the riders as safety came into their view; Wall Rose.

The riders where still a good four kilometers or so from the wall. Their green cloaks flapped behind them as they pressed on. They had valuable information and documents that could change the tide in the war on humanity. If caught now they would be facing their doom, no matter how great humanity's greatest soldier, second greatest, hope, and scientist fought; they would still be overwhelmed.

The titans were gaining on the four tired riders. A 14meter tall titan with greasy black hair and small beady eyes reached out to grab the closest one, grasping at air missing them by less than a meter. It moaned in frustration, stumbling slightly before attempting again.

The rider squealed with joy as the titan missed again, falling flat on its face as others collided with its fallen body. Her face was beaded with sweat and dirt, but anyone could still see the red tint on her cheeks as she longingly looked back at the fallen creature.

"Hanji, there is a time and place for everything. Now is neither the time nor place." Levi stated in a flat tone, looking forward the whole time.

The titans were almost on top of them again, but slowed as the group entered the small town outside the wall of Trost; Most running into the outer buildings and piled on top of one another.

"Unfortunately, we will have to leave these majestic creatures behind." Levi motioned toward the horses. "There is no way that they will open the gate for us with all these following us." He then motioned toward the remaining titans that did not get caught up in the town's buildings.

As they reached the base of the wall a smaller titan, about a 7 meter class, lunged toward the group. It had come from the left side, flanking them. Levi was the first to react propelling himself out of the saddle and straight into the titans gaping mouth. Just before he meet his death, the direction of his momentum changed as he swung around its head; cleanly severing it's neck. Violently jerking his blades down to clean them of excess blood, he dashed off followed by the rest of the group. They quickly attached themselves to the wall flying out of harm's way.

The guards along the wall starred at the group in confusion as they helped the exhausted survey corps get over the wall's edge. Hanji sat down, letting her legs dangle as she enjoyed the scene below her. The titans had gathered at the wall, clawing at the hard stone in an attempt to reach their elusive snacks.

"Hanji" Levi stated, preoccupied with cleaning his blades. "We need to hurry up and turn in a report to Erwin. You, shitty brats." He glanced up at Eren and Mikasa. "Go back and re- whoa." Levi caught Eren before he fell to the hard stone. His face was pale and his skin was clammy. Mikasa took the passed out boy from Levi, sending him a warning glare.

"Take him back and get some rest. When we come back I'd like to have a word with him." With that he walked off, not before tugging on the brunet's ponytail.

Mikasa shifted Eren's weight to her back as she was escorted off the wall.

* * *

Levi trudged into his office, neatly folding his light brown jacket before slumping in his chair. He leaned back letting out a small sigh of relief, relishing in the temporary feeling of safety. The report to Erwin was lengthy and tiresome; he just wanted to rest. Hanji and him had to explain in great detail everything about their secret mission. The news about the 'Holy Text of Titans', as Hanji referred to it, and Eren's background rendered the commander speechless.

_"This mission was well worth its risk, the results are greater than I expected. Well done." Erwin turned from surveying the landscape out his office window to look at the two lower ranked officers. "Hanji, I want you to study these and learn every piece of weakness the titans have. Also I want to know more about this 'cult' and how Eren was created. If there are more cult spy's we need to know. "_

_"That was my plan!" Hanji hummed in response._

_"Levi, I want you to watch over Eren like you are already doing, however I want you to retrain him. You said he regained his memories on how to control his form, right? Well I want you to oversee his progress. If he was created to fight against the titans and this 'cult' then he needs to be put to good use."_

_Levi gave a slight nod._

Levi rested his head in his hands, closing his weary eyes. His body was sore from the long ride in the saddle and the lack of sleep was not helping him function. All he wanted to do was to wash away his fatigue and get a good night's rest before he had to deal with Eren. Eren's sea-green eyes danced behind his closed lids. Remembering the new emotion that had flashed briefly in Eren's frightened and lost eyes back in the basement. Levi could not lie to himself, that emotion was there, it was not a distortion of torch light. He felt something pull on his heart like it had a string attached to it. Why was that emotion there? Was it directed toward him? Questions buzzed in his brain like an annoying fly. His mind cleared when he heard a few light knocks on his door.

"Enter." He commanded, not moving from his position to look at who knocked.

Eren slowly opened the wooden door, it slid open with ease. A soft click was produced with the door closed. Levi motioned for Eren to sit in a chair behind him, still unmoving from his spot. Eren sheepishly sat down waiting for Levi to speak.

After a few moments Levi spoke his words gentler then usual. "How are you holding up Yeager?"

"Sir?" The question caught Eren off guard.

Levi let out an annoyed sigh. "How are you holding up? Do not make me repeat myself for a third time."

"Yes sir. Well…" Eren trailed, off his eyes darkening.

Levi opened his heavy eyes, glancing out the window. The sun had long set behind the walls and dusk was fading into night.

"Talk to me Yeager. I know you have a lot weighing down on you now that you remember things. As your commander, I am here to help. I may not be the nicest one, but that's the way I have to be in this war. I will always lend an ear." Levi turned to stare Eren directly in the eye; Sea-green mixing with steel blue.

Eren's calm heart started to pick up its pace when Levi's eyes met his. Those once cold eyes were yet again looking at him softly full of concern. He did not want to feel this cancerous emotion that was growing in his chest. Eren swallowed nervously, breaking eye contact, a slight pink tint to his cheeks.

'There is was again.' Levi thought, as he saw the emotion flash once more in Eren's eyes before he looked away.

They sat in silence until Eren spoke up again. "It is painful... I cannot believe it even happened to me…they seem to fit better as nightmares then memories…I know they are true though…" His voice was trembling as he peered down at his shaky hands in dismay.

"The earliest I can remember…"

_"Eren straighten your back." A long stick whipped his lower back with a loud whack._

_"Legs wider." Whack._

_"Bend your knees more." Whack._

_"Chin up." Eren's father tilted Eren's face up more. "Don't be afraid to look your opponent in the eye." Whack._

_Young Eren around the age of four, moved out of his stance rubbing his head. "Owwwiee daddy that hurt." He wined, tears threatening to spill from his large eyes._

_"Did I say you could move?" The older man spat at his son. "Don't you dare cry. I am releasing the dogs now." He walked to the nearest cage, unlatching the hook that held back the starved and beaten dogs. Two large black hounds shot out of the cage drool hanging from their gaping jaws. They leapt on the young child who was almost twice as small as them._

_Eren punched the first hound under its jaw, dealing a nice upper cut. He lunged out of the way of the second, proceeding to jam his fist into the side of its head. The first regained its footing and latched its mouth onto Eren's arm. He cringed in pain letting out a sharp yelp. The hound bit down harder as Eren flung his arm to the side violently, forcing the two hounds to collide. A loud snap echoed through the small clearing as one of the dogs lay lip on the other, who was struggling to get out. Eren leaned over pounding his fist into the remaining hound's face, until the skin of his knuckles was gone._

_Eren pulled away, all of his focus on his father. The man nudged the dead bodies of the dogs, eyeing them suspiciously. Turning his back to his son, he strode toward the next cage._

_"Not precise enough, do it again."_

"...so he had me fight them day after day, time after time, until it was to his satisfaction." Eren rubbed the skin on his knuckles nervously.

"Yeager-"

"That's just the start of it." Eren cut off Levi.

Levi spent the next few hours listening to Eren's disturbing childhood. How from a young age his father trained him in hand to hand combat, daggers, swords and javelins. How he was tested on in that grim basement, his blood mixing with the chemicals. How he was forced to kill humans in and out of his titan form. Eren from a young age was covered in blood, all for the sake of saving humanity. Eren had to sacrifice his life so that hopefully, he could make it so future generations could be safe.

'That's so fucked up. I understand that sacrifices need to be made in hard times like this, it's just unfair; but life is unfair. The world is a cruel place. All I can do is wish for those souls to be given a second chance at a better life.' Levi thought listening to Eren's voice tremble and catch in his throat.

"Shhh" Levi got up and pulled Eren's head into his chest. "Enough talk, just let it all out." His words and actions were unusually kind, making Eren tense up before he embraced the older man. The younger let out silent cries as his body was racked with uncontrollable sobs. They stood there as Eren calmed down, feeling relief from sharing his memories. He breathed in short breaths letting Levi's crisp clean sent calm him down. The fire in his heart could no longer be put out, it was burning brightly now.

'I am going soft.' Levi thought, holding Eren a bit tighter.

"There is no way I am letting you sleep in the dungeon tonight. You can stay here alright?" Levi whispered, running his long slender fingers through Eren's fluffy brown locks. Eren nuzzled his head farther into Levi's broad chest, giving a small nod.

* * *

Far from the walls, a city was nestled deep in the mountains. One could say it was a city built for giants as the city extended well into the mountain to its core. Deep inside the base of a snowcapped mountain, sat six figures. They were huge and never ageing, their human bodies preserved within the titan forms. The largest and most distinct titan set down a set of 3d maneuver gear into the center of the group. His large hairy hands could easily crush the gear with the slightest of movements.

"This is what they have designed to fight back." The hairy titan stated, a hint of amusement laced in his deep voice. The others gazed down at the gear, inspecting the weak looking gadget.

"Interesting…" One of the other titans spoke up after the group got a good look at it.

"But Pride, where did you get this?" Another titan questioned the hairy titan.

"I decided to pay humanity a quick visit, leaving a fun present for them to play with." The hairy titan, or Pride, chuckled. The others smiled, their faces twisting into frightening grins.

Pride abruptly stopped in mid chuckle, tilting his head quizzically to the side. "What is this? Human movement in Shiganshina?" The others mirrored their leader, the humans had to be scheming some insane plan for them to be that deep in titan territory.

"Hmmmm get the children please, this could get very amusing." Pride announced to the group before a small five meter titan scurried of on all fours out of the cavern.

A few minutes passed before the small titan returned with two titans in tow; one incredibly big and the other was normal. The normal titan could be mistaken for a cat if compared to the sixty meter titan it walked next to. The sixty meter titan was colossal; pure muscle not a single patch of skin covered its large form. Next to it the fifteen meter titan was covered from head to toe in hard impenetrable skin, it could be compared to armor, with stark white spiked hair. The two leaned down on one knee, bowing their heads in respect. They waited for Pride to speak.

"Wasn't there a third?"

"She was caught and is now dormant in a crystalline state." The armored titan answered.

"I see…a loss but no matter. You two have not heard anything about human activity in Shiganshina?"

The two titans looked at each other confusion written on their titan faces. "No we have not."

"Hmmmm…then do you know why there would be humans that far into my territory?"

The two looked back at each other seemingly thinking the same. "I believe that they would be looking for information about Eren Yeager."

"Eren Yeager?" Pride raised a bushy eyebrow.

"He possesses the ability to shift into a superior titan, we learned of him just recently. He fights for the side of humanity."

Pride was thrown off, he face contorting in confusion.

'A titan I don't have control over…how is that possible…' Pride thought.

"Bring him to us, he could be useful. Do whatever damage you need to do. I want him."

"Yes." The two titans replied in unison before quickly leaving the cavern.

'I want him'

'I want him'

'I want him'

'I want him'

'I want him'

* * *

Eren woke to sunlight glaring in his face. Not wanting to wake just yet he buried his face into the pillow, smelling the crisp clean sheets. Snuggling deeper into the sheets, Eren realized he was not in his room. On the contrary he was nowhere near his room. Pushing a hand up to block the intense light, he slowly peered over at the slumbering body next to him. The steady rise and fall of his breaths gave the captain a sense of almost innocence that Eren has never seen from him. His jet black hair fell perfectly around his sleeping face and Eren had to resist the temptation to touch the silky locks. His face flushed as the events of last night replayed in his mind.

'I'm so embarrassed captain had to see me like that.' Eren thought carefully sliding out of the bed, not wanting to wake the slumbering man.

"Where are you going, brat?" Levi mumbled having woken from Eren's shifting.

"Food sir. It is the middle of the day." Eren hastily replied.

Levi sleepily hummed in response. "Feeling better?"

Eren was lost for a moment before it hit him. "Yes sir. Thank you for lending an ear… and your bed." Eren mumbled the last part, his face was completely red.

"Good." That was the only thing Levi said before he rolled to face the other direction. Eren took that as a sign to leave and slipped out of the room undetected. Or so he thought.

* * *

"I saw your favorite titan shifter leave your room earlier today!" Hanji teased.

"Yeah so? I lent my ear to him. Kid has some nasty father issues now." Levi stated in a monotone voice, sipping tea from his cup.

It was latter the afternoon, the sun was making its slow decent across the sky. The mild ray's illuminated the large dining hall, where the troops ate. The short closed off ravenet was trying to enjoy his afternoon tea before he was rudely interrupted by the enthusiastic glasses wearing brunet.

"Yeah but his face was all red, he looked super embarrassed. You sure you did not d-"

"Do you think I would lay a hand on an unstable underage male?" Levi slammed down his now empty cup on the wooden table, startling a few stray people who hugged the outer tables.

"Who knows" Hanji sang, leaving Levi to his thoughts.

Levi clicked his tongue in annoyance as he got up to get more tea. After staying up for the last two days stressed out and then sleeping away half of today, he had quite a lot of work piled up.

"Captain!" A voice called out to Levi. He turned to see it was the kid with two-toned hair.

"What do you want, brat?"

"Commander Smith would like to see you, sir."

"Again? I just talked to him yesterday. Thank you." Levi marched off toward Erwin, without refilling his tea.

* * *

"IT'S THE COLOSSAL TITAN!" Someone yelled as the survey corps were rushed to the wall.

"ARMORED TITAN WAS JUST SPOTTED!" Someone else bellowed.

From their position on wall Rose surrounding Trost, the survey corps could easily see the two titans standing out from the planer titans that surrounded them. Eren nonchalantly backed away from the rest of his squad, slipping away mostly undetected. He was uneasy with whole situation; his gut was doing backflips in nervous anticipation.

Levi saw his stealthy advances, as the boy slowly left his comrades. Levi locked eyes with him, casually nudging his head for Eren to go, no matter how much he wanted to yell out not to. Eren's heart hurt, not only due to the fact of what horrendous crime he was about to commit, but because he may never see these people ever again. His chest tightened at the thought of never seeing his blond friend and overly protective sister, or those oddly soft steel blue eyes. Reluctantly, the boy tore his sea-green eyes away from the steel blue ones before running off.

"What are they doing?" Jean questioned out loud, glaring menacingly at the two traitors.

"I am not sure. They are just standing there with an army, yet they have not even tried to go for the walls. It's like they want someone to notice them. As if there purpose is to draw attention to them so we are distracted…" Armin answered, thinking about the question more.

"This is a distraction!" Armin exclaimed, hastily dashing toward his captain.

"Captain, sir! This is a distraction another titan that we don't know about could attack!"

"Logical thinking there, I feel like it's not off the mark too much," Levi replied his eyes following the messy mop of brown that was slowly making his way to the front and center of the wall.

"Huh? Sir?" The blond boy questioned his superior.

"Get back to your post."

The armored titan roared monstrous and raw at the wall, the sound of it sent shivers down the spines of the survey corps. Nothing happened, after a miniature it roared again only to stop abruptly as colossal titan started moving toward the wall; its eyes glued to something. It advanced slowly at first picking up speed, rushing toward the wall. Cries of alarm reverberated throughout the corps as the insanely large titan approached them. The cries changed to shouts as a blur of brown pushed its way through the crowd.

"HEY!"

"WAIT WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"

"NO DON'T-"

"EREN!?" Mikasa yelled as Eren forced his way to the edge of the wall, and then time seemed to slow down. The onlookers watched in horror as the boy launched himself into the sky, letting gravity arc his path down. Mikasa sprinted to the edge attaching her hooks the wall and zoomed off toward Eren. The wind stung his face, but not as much as the ache in his gut going against everything he stood for. Drawing his hand to his face, Eren bit down hard.

_"They will be coming for you again, we are sure about this. When they do, go with them."_

_"What are you saying, you want me to betray humankind!?" Eren inquired, eyes wide in disbelief._

_"To the outside that is what it will look like, yes. However you need to do this, you are humanity's only way to get inside the cult. Once inside we want you to earn their trust, do whatever it takes. Then destroy them from the inside." Levi replied, his voice monotone._

_"But-"_

_"No, we need you to do this, this is an Order!" Levi stamped his foot in frustration._

_"…Yes sir." Eren said dryly, turning away._

_"Eren, before you-Eren look at me!" Levi grabbed Eren by his face squeezing his cheeks together, turning his head so they could look at each other directly in the eyes. The simple sound of his name rolling of his captain's tongue sent small shivers down his spine and into his heart._

_"Eren, before you go, you need to promise to meet me." Eren raised an eyebrow._

_"Do you remember that forest we almost caught Annie? The one with the gigantic trees?" Eren nodded._

_"Every full moon meet me there, I will be waiting." Levi released Eren's face, gazing up into those sea-green eyes._

"I promise." Eren whispered as lighting flashed enveloping his body in a fleshy embrace.

Eren landed on his feet supported by the giant hand of the colossal titan. He was now fifteen meters tall, as large as a building, and as inhuman as the rest of the titans. Eren turned his ominous glowing green gaze to the betrayed, lost, and hurt faces of his comrades. Disbelief masked disappointment, like they knew he would end up like every other titan shifter. Mikasa halted her advance, hanging from the wall lifelessly, her feet tenderly resting against the worn stone. She clearly looked the most broken out of all the faces, he could see as she fought back the pain and shock. His eyes lingered on the calm, casual, nonchalant features of his captain, one last time. Releasing a frightful apologetic roar, 'I'm so sorry.' Eren let Bertolt carry him away.


	3. Lies and Broken Promises

**_Chapter 3: Lies and Broken Promises_ **

The walls were far behind them, vast greenery making way for rocky hillsides. Over the past hour or so, Eren had relearned titan speech; a jumbled mix of throaty grunts, moans, and roars. The language was so inhuman and strange to Eren but he had to learn it knowing that he would be speaking it often. The army of smaller titans had left the titan shifters a while back, roaming the landscape mindlessly. Eren was now perched on Bertolt's muscular shoulder as he was taken to somewhere unknown. The colossal titan had set Reiner, who was still in his armored titan form, on the other shoulder so the group could converse and move with ease.

"Well this was not what we expected." Reiner grunted out, glowing green met glowing yellow.

"Yeah we were prepared for a massive battle, one that involved the death of many soldiers just to capture you. We never thought that you would just join us. Why did you?" Bertolt questioned, Eren felt his deep gurgled grunt reverberate through him.

"I thought…..that it…would be…best." Eren growled out after a few seconds, he was still adjusting to the speech. He tried to continue explaining his reasons but all that came out was an incoherent roar. A deep chuckle escaped the two titans as they enjoyed watching him struggle to master their language. After a few more attempts, Eren started to pick up on the language.

"I thought that… it would be better if I… joined this side. I regained memories…of how to use my titan…abilities. I decided that humanity was in the wrong and…would never win. "

The two cult titans glanced at each other; something seemed very fishy with Eren's story. How could the boy who was so fixated on destroying every last titan on the planet just change his mind? Eren was well known for his stubbornness and his head strong personality. It seemed very un-Eren like to betray humanity without a fight.

"Eren, you are not lying to us are you? This seems very unlike you." The armored titan asked, turning his unnatural yellow eyes back to Eren's titan form.

Eren was internally panicking; he could not let his mission be discovered right off the bat. His mind raced coming up with something, anything that would pass as a plausible excuse for his un-Eren like actions.

"No, I am not lying." He spat out quickly. "I told you I regained my memories on how to control my titan. With those memories came the reason how I became a titan." Was he really going to tell them the truth? Spinning the lie, he weaved the web of deception, hoping the two would fall for it.

"I was a small kid when I became a titan a hundred years ago. I wandered aimlessly with the rest of the titans until one day I somehow regained my conscience. I was confused and lost, gaining my humanity in the middle of a fight with some survey corps. Seeing humans, I decided to transform back into my child state and hid in a body bag. I was taken within the walls, where I snuck back into the city of Shiganshina. That is where I was adopted by my parents and given the name Eren Yeager. I told them about my titan abilities but they just laughed it off as child imagination. My father, who was a doctor, gave me medication to stop the dreams and soon I forgot about my own abilities." Eren held his breath, hoping his lie worked.

"That doesn't explain why you chose to come with us." Reiner's eyes were drilling holes into his skull.

"Well until I regained my memories I had no idea why I was a titan. Upset and distraught I thought that the enemy was the titans. I now know that the true enemy is humanity itself, engraved in my titan senses is the urge to destroy humanity, to teach it a lesson. I couldn't just sit idly and when the opportunity to join the titan side arose I took it."

"What about your father's basement? What was that all about? We know that you were just there not too long ago, ballsy move if you ask me."

"There was nothing there but some notes about my parents adopting me and my stories of being a titan; that's what triggered my memories to return. " Eren was a nervous wreck on the inside but he could not show it or else his fabricated lie would be obvious.

The cult titans exchanged glances again before Bertolt's deep rumbling groan broke the tension. "That makes sense. It is near impossible to go against Prides orders."

'Pride? Was Pride a person or was Bertolt talking about the emotion?' Eren's mind ran circles.

Eren wanted to speak up and ask him what he meant by 'Pride' but Eren was afraid he would give away his lie.

Sensing his confusion Bertolt groaned again. "Pride is our leader, the creator of the titans. He and the other council members call the shots, letting us do the dirty work. There are five council members beside Pride: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Envy, and Sloth. There used to be a sixth, Wrath, however he disappeared almost twenty years ago and no one has heard from him since."

"Do not worry, I doubt you knew Pride's name and only knew him by the leader who gave you orders." Reiner explained as well. Eren relaxed a little knowing his lie passed and he was safe, for now.

The land scape had once again changed as they conversed, from the rocky hills to a long green valley. Massive snowcapped mountains lined the valley, towering over the group as they progressed closer to the foot hills. Eren noticed the lack of titans the closer they got to the mountains. From his vantage point on the colossal titan's shoulder, he spotted a large city. It looked like any other city Eren had seen within the walls except that most of the buildings looked to scale for fifteen meter titans.

As they drew closer Eren saw several fields, the dirt ground up with large footprints and fist imprints. To Eren's surprise one of fields was occupied by two titans sparing. The larger of the two, a fourteen meter titan, had bulky knuckles and spiked armored patches of skin. It had pale blue eyes and short spiked light brown hair. The smaller, a ten meter titan, had long claw like fingers and a skinless exterior except the patches that covered its chest indicating it was a female. It had glowing gray eyes and long white hair, which was tied in a ponytail. At first glance one would think the larger titan was winning the fight, but upon closer inspection the smaller female was dominating the fight. It easily out maneuvered every punch thrown its way, dealing damage with its claws before retreating unharmed. Eren watched the match in awe.

Turning his attention back toward the town, he noticed several humans walking among the brown, red, and grey buildings. The humans wore black jackets, grey cargo pants, and black combat boots. They all seemed to be in uniform and all carried a different weapon: dagger, sword, or javelin. Approaching the entrance of the city, several humans and titans glanced in their direction before continuing on with their activities.

Bertolt suddenly grabbed Eren by his waist and lowered him to the ground, repeating the action with Reiner. After the two titans were on the ground, he took a few steps back into an empty field, curling up in a ball. Bertolt emerged from the back of his titan's neck, tendons ripping away from his human skin as steam filled the air around his disappearing titan form.

Reiner led Eren toward the mountain side where a huge stone door, larger than the colossal titan, loomed above the pair. Intricate designs of eyes surrounded by vines covered the cold stone. With a push the door opened wide into a long passage that led deep into the core of the mountain. After several minutes they descended a flight of large stone steps that opened up into a great circular hall. Huge torches lined the walls casting an eerie flickering light throughout the space. The floor was covered in the same intricate design the door had. The six figures that occupied the room stared intensely at Eren, studying him.

Reiner kneeled down, bowing his head in respect, motioning for Eren to do the same. He copied the armored titan's actions, kneeling before the six titans. The largest and most distinct titan spoke, his eyes never leaving Eren.

"I presume this is that rouge titan I sent you to get? What was his name…Eren Yeager?" Its deep pleased voice bounced off the walls, slightly echoing.

"Yes, this is him." Reiner responded respectfully, never moving from his position.

"Thank you, you may leave now. I would like to have a word with our new 'friend'." The titan stood up, walking slowly to Eren as Reiner left the way they came. It was covered from head to toe in long black hair, with a skin covered chest and abs. To Eren it looked like a gorilla, an ape that lived in jungles, which he read in a book about the world beyond the walls. Its long wrinkled fingers lifted his chin up so that he was gazing into its amused black eyes.

"Hello there." Eren fought back the sudden urge to punch the hairy titan. "My name is Pride. You have some fight in you I see." Pride easily read Eren like he was an open book. "Tell me your story."

Eren told the titans the same lie he told Reiner and Bertolt, hoping they believed him. The whole time he spoke, Pride ran his fingers all along Eren's body, severely creeping him out. Pride spent quite a while inspecting Eren, no titan in the room moved but Pride.

"Hmmm I doubt that this form is from the first batch of chemical X. No matter, you have been with those measly humans for too long. We will break you in no time." Pride ginned widely, letting Eren see how twisted and frightening it was.

* * *

"What did you tell Eren to do?" Mikasa's tone was laced with hate as she glared at her commanders. If looks could kill every person in the room would be long dead.

"Eren acted on his own accord, No one would have guessed that he would betray humanity." Erwin stated flatly, brushing Mikasa's hateful glares off.

"No, Eren would not abandon humanity like this." Her voice rising as she yelled. "HE WOULD NOT ABANDON ME! WHAT DID YOU TELL HIM?"

She leapt at Erwin only to be held back by Levi and Hanji. She fought back kicking and punching in an attempt to break free. The small man jabbed his hand swiftly into her side, she doubled over in pain.

"Calm down, none of us expected Eren to leave nor do we want him gone. That is the way things turned out we can only except it and move on." Levi spoke, as Mikasa quietly cried. Tears streamed down her face as uncontrollable sobs racked her body.

'You are not the only one who wants the brat back.' Levi thought, dragging the broken girl out of Erwin's office.

* * *

The days were a bloody blur to Eren. He spent most of his time being trained not to fight back against the titans. As elaborate and persuasive Eren's story may be, Pride still saw the urge to kill titans in him; Eren still had the feeling to resist Pride's orders.

_"You can take away plenty of freedom by tying someone up. It is far more affective for someone to force themselves to succumb instead of others doing it for them."_

Thus Eren spent days listening to every command Pride threw at him.

_Eren was chained to the floor with two five meter titans watching him as he sat trying not to think about how hungry he was. Pride had ordered him not to eat until he was told too. So Eren, in human form, sat there for three days starving himself, surrounded by the temptation of food. After those three days the chains came off but the order to eat never came. Only after six days in total of watching Eren mentally break down, but follow his order, did Pride allow him to eat._

Eren was broken; anyone could see the light that once filled his sea-green eyes was now dull and barely noticeable. His stubborn personality was still there however he never questioned an order, no matter how ridiculous or cruel the order was. Eren was not beaten into submission, no Eren broke himself. Not once did Pride hurt him physically, but the mental blow was greater than any physical pain could bring. After weeks of following orders, Pride deemed him ready to train.

He spent his time mastering his titan form with one of the council titans and sparing with the two titans he saw when he first arrived. The spiked titan was a small boy no taller than Annie and his name was Jakub. The clawed female titan was a tall girl, taller than Reiner but shorter than Bertolt, and her name was Eva. Jakub was a twisted soul; he sought after every opportunity to torcher his victims. Eva was a quiet girl, however if you approached her without notice you would be missing several limbs before you could even blink. Gluttony, the council titan who assisted in Eren's training, was a fat fifteen meter titan. He had the largest mouth Eren had ever seen and it could unhinge like a snakes. He was covered with skin and had slit like red eyes that were blocked by thin greasy black hair. The training was long and harsh but in some warped way Eren enjoyed them.

Given the freedom to wander near to the city, but never outside the valley, Eren was currently sprawled out on a large bolder watching the night sky. During most nights Eren could see into the depths of space, the large cloud like band of purples, yellows, and blues crossed the black canvas of night covered by hundreds of twinkling white stars. The brightness of the stars ranged from intense points of light to small smudges in the dark sky.

Tonight however the bright full moon was washing out most of the star light drenching the landscape around him in a calming glow. Inhaling deep, he released a large sigh reaching his hands up into the sky. Cupping his hands the moon looked like a white ball waiting to be caught. He had missed another meeting with his short raven haired captain. Eren always kept his promises and took them very seriously. He could not help but break the promise or else his cover would be blown. Sadness swept through him as he knew his captain would be disappointed in him for breaking the important promise. But Eren had to deal with it, hoping that in the long run things would turn out for the better.

Eren knew he was on the verge of mentally losing to Pride and the only thing that kept him slightly human was the thought of those soft steel blue eyes. The ache in his heart hurt more than any physical blow he was dealt in the past few weeks. Why did Eren miss the man those beautiful eyes belonged to? Why did he miss the strong warm embrace of the man's arms? Why was he so attracted to his short, perfectly muscular figure? Eren could not find the answers for the questions that scattered his thoughts, but he did know one thing. That emotion he felt toward this man was genuine and growing stronger the longer they were separated: He was in love.

"I wonder if you are looking up at the moon with me." The words escaped his lips, so soft that if there was another person with him they would have to strain their ears to hear. Closing his eyes he let his imagination run wild, visions of his captain danced behind the lids. Eren did not know when he had drifted off to sleep, but he was rudely awakened by the roaring order from Pride to return. Picking himself up, the boy swiftly leapt off the large bolder, taking one last glance at the moon.

Soon he reached the city; his long javelin was slung across his back. The black shaft blending into his jacket as the jagged silver tip reflected the moons light. There was a commotion going on in the city's center. As Eren drew closer he could hear the excited moans of the titans and titan shifters that blocked his view. Violently forcing his way to the front of the crowd to stand next the armored titan, Eren's eyes widened in dismay.

A large metal poll stood alone in the middle of the square. Tightly chained to the poll was the two hair toned, horse face bastard, Jean. He was gagged with a dirty rag, his eyes glistening over with frightened tears, he wore his survey outfit but his gear was missing. Jean looked like a small caged animal ready to be slaughtered, and that was exactly what he was. Jean was going to die; there was no way for him to escape alive. Jean was trebling, tugging on his restraints to no avail. Next to him Jakub was eyeing him like a new toy to play with as the others in the crowed mimicked him.

Pride was sitting cross-legged at the edge of the circle, watching Eren's facial expressions.

"You recognize this boy?" Pride inquired in titan tongue, his gaze never leaving Eren.

"Yes. He was in our 104th trainee squad." Eren responded in a monotone voice in human speech. Jeans eyes darted to Eren, narrowing in hate. The armored titan and Bertolt shifted uncomfortably, knowing the outcome of someone they called comrade at a point.

"Kill him." Prides eyes were full of amusement, like this was the best entertainment in decades. Disappointment crossed the faces of the other titans and titan shifters as Eren stepped forward.

"How?"

"With your teeth." Prides eyes danced in delight. Eren raised his hand to his mouth to bite down. "In your human form."

Eren abruptly stopped his mouth, teeth halting millimeters above the smooth unbroken skin. Swallowing his disgust and defiance, Eren lowered his hand. Pride motioned for the chains to be removed. Eren forced down his morals, he had to obey Pride for the mission to work and if it cost the lives of his comrades, so be it. Once Jeans restraints had been removed, he ripped the gag out of his mouth.

"You fucking traitor." Jean growled out. His fists were balled so tight that his knuckles turned white.

Eren remained silent, slowly moving toward the comrade he had to kill. The black javelin was now held in his hand. Eren had orders to kill Jean with his teeth, but that did not mean he could not harm him with weapons. Jean took a defensive stance as Eren slowly started to circle him. Jean suddenly launched at Eren, his fist connecting with air as Eren easily avoided the punch. Eren had become more agile then the last time Jean had seen him, due to all his training. Jean stumbled to regain his balance before wildly swinging his arm again. Eren again easily evaded the attack driving his javelin into Jeans foot. The Jagged head effortlessly ripped into the booted foot and deep into the ground. Jean howled in pain as he became grounded to that spot.

Eren was done dragging out the last few moments of Jeans somber life. Swiftly knocking the wind from him, Eren forced Jean's neck forward and to the side, so that the vertebrae were visible. Eren sunk his teeth into the flesh, hitting the nerve that received pain. Pride watched the scene before him as Jeans screams pierced the night. His voice was filled with so much pain it stabbed Eren, but he had to continue. Blood spurted on his face as he hit a vital artery. The screams died down to bloody gurgles the harder Eren sunk his teeth. Then silence.

Jean's limp dead body rested in Eren's cold embrace. Appalled and outraged with what he had just done, Eren let Jean crumple to the ground as he strode out of the square. Prides pleased eyes following him the whole way.

When he was out of sight of the city, Eren wrapped his arms around his legs; He was shaking violently. The metallic taste of Jeans blood still lingered in his mouth; the sensations of Jean's body writhing in pain still ghosted his skin. Eren was terrified, not just at what he did but because somewhere inside him he enjoyed it. He found pleasure in brutally murdering his comrade.

Glancing at the luminous ball of white, Eren closed his eyes thinking of the only thing that kept him sane: Steel blue eyes.

* * *

The Moon shone brightly through the thick foliage of the forest, its light cast shadows across the short man's face. A small breeze rustled the leaves of trees that mixed in with the melody of nocturnal creatures. Levi sighed for the nth time that night as he leaned his back against the gigantic tree. The rough bark numbed his back as it tried to poke through his cloak. Closing his steel blue eyes he slumped down at the juncture of the branch and trunk.

This was the third full moon that Eren had stood Levi up. Once a month, every full moon, Levi sunk out holding his end of the promise Eren was breaking. He could understand why Eren might not have made it to the first full moon, due to trust issues or cult activities, but to miss three; this was Eren's last strike before he gave up all hope. His silky black hair hung in front of his eyes blocking view of the forest, so he did not see the shadowy figure silently approach him.

A dark hand touched Levi's shoulder, scaring the short man. Instantly he knocked over the stranger, his blades drawn, deathly close to their neck.

"E-Eren!?" Levi whispered out, quite shocked as he sheathed his blades. The boy just smiled, his sea-green eyes lighting up when they saw the blades withdraw, his hair was still a messy mop of brown. Helping him to his feet Levi inspected Eren. He was leaner then Levi last remembered, and looked slightly older too. He was wearing a black jacket, grey cargo pants, and black boots. This confused Levi, there was no sign of 3D maneuver gear, or any climbing gear at all. How did Eren get so high in the tree without a gears help?

"Glad to see you finally kept your promise." Levi placed a hand to Eren's shoulder giving it a small squeeze.

"Sorry sir, things got complicated." Eren cast his eyes down, shifting his weight from foot to foot. Eren seemed to be wearing a forced look, masking the emotions he did not want Levi to see.

"Eren remember what I told you? I will always be here to lend an ear, so talk to me." Levi sat back down in the juncture of the tree, patting the bark next to him. His name sent small shivers down Eren's spine, hearing the man he was in love with call him was more than enough to set his body on fire. Heat rose to his cheeks, flushing red.

Eren smiled slightly even though the initial emotion of love was there, it was soon washed away by the appalling feeling that weighed him down. Settling down near to his captain, a meter separated them, Eren closed his eyes thinking of how to properly explain his horrendous crime. Levi noticed the unnecessarily large gap between their bodies and scooted closer so that their shoulders almost touched.

Eyes still closed Eren spoke in a cold tone. "I have done something so wrong, so inhumane, I am not even worthy to be near you captain."

A strong arm wrapped around his shoulder bringing Eren to rest his head on Levi's shoulder. Eren would have been a flustered mess if it wasn't for the grim topic that weighed heavy on Eren's heart.

"Start from the beginning, I will listen to all of it." Levi gently whispered, running his fingers lightly through the younger's fluffy brown locks.

Relaxing into the embrace, Eren told Levi everything that happened to him since he left the walls over three months ago. He talked about Prides self-succumbing methods of breaking, Gluttony's training, and every warped order he had to follow. Levi's jacket was thoroughly soaked after Eren bawled about how he ruthlessly murdered Jean. He continued to cry until the tears stopped flowing. Levi pulled the boy into his arms, embracing him tightly.

"Eren its ok. Shhh. It is all right. People die in this war all the time, Jean's death is my fault. He saw me leave the walls and followed me. I ordered him to go back and that he was to be severely punished for risking his life for no reason. That night after the full moon, he never returned so the troops had to assume he was missing in action. I never would have thought he would be captured and brought to you to test your obedience. Yes you ended his life, but it was doomed the moment he followed me. I take responsibility for his death. You had to do what you did for the overarching goal. At least you ended it much quicker than most there would have done."

Eren just nodded, nuzzling deeper into the older man's warm embrace. He felt the weight of his sins being lifted ever so slightly after he spoke to his captain. He soon dosed off into a calm sleep, savoring the smell of clean sheets and crisp morning air that was Levi. Levi held the boy close; he had been through so much in his short life and was expected to do things much greater than the average boy of his age. He needed a light to keep him from losing his way in the dark. Levi was not the most expressive and kind person, and he probably had the least credentials to fill that spot. However he knew how Eren worked and he knew the feelings Eren harbored for him. Levi felt the emotion spark up inside his heart, he knew he should not be feeling this not for the unstable underage brat. But Levi was what Eren needed, so instead of killing the small flame, he let it blaze.

The moon was gradually making its decent in the dark sky. Levi lightly shook Eren awake. The boy opened his drowsy eyes, rubbing them with the back of his hand to clear the sand. He realized his head was still resting on Levi's shoulder; a red tint dusted his cheeks as he pulled away from the contact. The shorter man quickly stood, pulling the taller up with him.

"It is time for me to head back; I suggest you do the same. We are both sneaking away to meet, unknown by our superiors." Levi broke the silence of the forest melody.

"Yes, sir. I will make sure no titans come to this area every time we meet." Levi raised a curious eyebrow at the comment.

"I have slight control over the normal titans, I can command them to not be in certain areas. Do not worry about them, I promise you that no titan will harm you during a full moon."

"I see, thank you." Levi was somewhat surprised at the information. "So you can tell fewer titans to go places?"

"Yes, sir."

"That's good to know." Levi started to turn his back on Eren before he stopped. "And Eren?"

"Yes, sir?" Eren's sea-green eyes were wide in shock as he was forcefully pulled down by the collar of his jacket. Levi slowly closed the gap between their lips. The light dry sensation of his lips on Eren's sent small sparks down his spine. The kiss was soft and gentle, conveying more feelings of love than lust. He withdrew after a few moments, and looked at Eren a small smirk on his face.

"My name is Levi, not 'sir'." With that he was gone into the dead of the night, leaving a very stunned Eren behind.


	4. Bathed in Death

_**Chapter 4: **Bathed in Death**** _

Levi was greeted by the sounds of laughter, idle chitchats, and utensils clinking against plates as he briskly pushed the great wooden door open, crossing the threshold into the dining hall. The new survey corps quickly adjusted over the past months to the new regimen mingling with the older generations. It was early morning and the sun was rising from the horizon, casting soft rays of sunlight into the large hall. Most of the dark oak tables were occupied by groups of people eating mushy porridge. A group of girls glanced up at him from their table, small blushes crossing their faces as he strode by ignoring them.

He made his way to the kitchen in desperate need of a cup of tea. Levi had just come back from his secret rendezvous with Eren and the lack of sleep was slowly affecting his mood; a cup of piping hot herbal tea was just what was needed to keep him from making a newbies day a living hell. Like Eren had promised, Levi did not see a single titan on his way back from the gigantic forest. The knowledge that Eren now had slight control over some titans was a huge step in the direction of saving humanity and winning this war.

Reaching up to grasp the handle of the cabinet, Levi's fingertips brushed the grainy wood millimeters below the handle. A scowl crossed his face as he was forced to stand on the tips of his toes, leaning against the tile counter for support. He finally opened the cabinet revealing the tins of tea leaves. Still standing on his toes, Levi precariously nudged the tin labeled 'Earl Gray' off its shelf grabbing it before it fell.

"Fucking idiots. I am the only one who drinks this stuff anyway, so why do they keep placing it so high?" Levi mumbled under his breath, preparing the hot water.

He removed the tea kettle full of boiling water from the open flame, gently placing it on the counter. Opening the tin, he scooped out five teaspoons of the blend of black tea leaves and pale orange rinds of the bergamot orange. Placing them in the kettle, the blend slowly sunk to the bottom. Levi then replaced the lid of the kettle, letting the tea steep.

He leaned his back against the counter closing his eyes as he waited for the tea to be ready. His mind wandered through the maze of thoughts until it settled on a pair of brilliant sea-green orbs. Only a few hours ago he held the owner of those beautiful eyes in his arms. He could still feel the boy pressed up against him. He could still feel the boy's tremors as he released his sins. He could still feel the boy's arms grip him tightly like if he let go, Levi would disappear. He could still feel the boy's soft dry lips on his. Minuscule sparks ran down his spine as he gently touched his lips. A light smile over took his usual scowl as he recalled the tender kiss. Eren's face was priceless; his cheeks were flushed a deep red, eyes teeming with disbelief and desire.

"Eeekkk!" Levi snapped his eyes open, glaring at the culprit as the smile was instantly wiped from his face.

"Oh my, I never knew you could smile!" Sang Hanji, her hazel eyes sparkling behind her glasses. Levi clicked his tongue in annoyance as he reached for the kettle to pour his tea, turning his back on the thing he wanted to avoid so early in the day. He poured the steaming orange-brown liquid into a cup, inhaling the slight citrus aroma of the tea.

"I bet I know why you were smiling!" Levi faced her raising a questioning eyebrow as he curled his fingers over the opposing edge of the cup.

"It has to do with those monthly night trips you take to go see your favorite titan shifter." Levi choked on his tea nearly spiting the precious liquid all over the annoyance. Hanji's face lit up as she saw a flash of panic in the steel blue eyes.

"I knew it! You do have the hots for him! So how long has your relationship been going on for? I'm sure you guys have done it, so who dominates who? You seem like the more dominating type, but Eren is so determined that he probably could be the one. Has he ever turned in-"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Levi cut her excited rambling off. "I have not been meeting with Eren once a month and I am a thousand present sure I do not have feelings toward the kid."

"Keep telling yourself that." Hanji pouted, looking a tad offended. Regaining her eager face she declared. "Anyway, I came to tell you I have made a breakthrough." She did not even give Levi time to question her as she bounced straight to the point. "I have been reading through the 'Holy Text of Titans' for the millionth time and I discovered something I kept missing. It was so embedded in the text that I really had to analyze it in order to understand what it was saying. It was a formula of sorts for and incredible lightweight material." She reached into her jacket and produced a light grey brick. "Take it."

Levi hesitantly took the grey brick. He was quite shocked as he studied the mater in his hand. The brick weighted no more than a few ounces, if it were not so large he would have thought it was not there. He set his tea down so he could feel the brick better.

"Fascinating right?" Her face was oozing such enthusiasm and pride, Levi was almost disgusted.

"Indeed, what is this?" Levi tapped the brick, dull thuds resounded.

"It's a formula I came up with based off the formula I found. I still have yet to name the material but it is just as strong as stone but only weights one tenth of it. It is quite easy to make and transport. Plus I'm working on a spray version where you can spray it and it will expand to fill in any cracks."

Levi stared at the wondrous material in his hand. "If we can get a batch to wall Maria we could maybe patch the hole in the wall."

"That was exactly what Erwin said. Well I must go now; I got some foaming stone to work on." She snatched the brick back and walked out the kitchen door. Levi picked his cup of tea back up, taking a sip of the strong liquid.

"Levi" Hanji popped her head back through the door, her chocolate ponytail swinging with momentum. "When did you start calling Eren 'Eren' and not 'Yeager'?" She winked, a smug look plastered on her face before she left for good.

Levi's nonchalant façade wavered; he almost dropped the cup of tea. He gingerly touched his cheeks feeling the heat that radiated from them.

* * *

Hundreds of hooves beat the ground creating such a thunderous melody that it could probably be heard for kilometers. If one were a bird or could somehow be granted an aerial view, the massive mass of green cloaked figurers on horseback would look like a wave of muddy water, flowing on the landscape. Almost all the survey corps had been deployed on this all important expedition. Levi ran his horse next to a cart full of a solution that was ready to be sprayed. It was his job to protect the solution even if it cost him his life. The route was familiar to him; it was the same route that the small group took to Shiganshina about four months ago. Near him, Levi spotted a familiar worn red scarf, fluttering in the wind under the green cloak.

_"The amount of titans that are surrounding wall Rose have decreased dramatically, due to this our last few expeditions beyond the walls have been successful. We have not encountered more than a hand full of deviant titans and there have been no signs of titan shifters. Hanji's new product 'Stoam' is absolutely brilliant. It has been tested enough that I believe we are ready to use it." Erwin rotated on his heels, facing Hanji, Levi, and Mike. He slammed the palms onto the polished wood of his desk._

_"Now is the perfect opportune time to strike. It is time we reclaimed something we have lost against the titans. We will take back wall Maria. The plan will be to fill in the hole in the wall closest to us. After that had been achieved then we can move onto eradicating the remaining titans in wall Maria."_

The landscape around the herd flew by blurring greens, blues, and browns. This was the most dangerous part, the land was relatively flat, nowhere to use the 3D maneuver gear if a titan attacked. It was strange not a single titan had been sported since the troops left the safety of wall Rose. The troops were drawing close to wall Maria and the broken city of Shiganshina, in less than an hour the wall would be in sight. Everyone's nerves were on edge, the expedition was extremely risky. The outcome could change the war with one battle. If they were successful Humanity would have taken something from the titans a great leap in the right direction. However if they failed, almost if not all of the survey corps would be eradicated and humanity would ensure its downfall.

Clouds gradually moved in front of the fiery ball of gas that provided light to the world. Patches of the ground would still be lit up only to fade into dimness then light up again as the clouds moved. Levi kept a cold calm demeanor on the outside; however on the inside he was full of anxiety.

'How many more people will die here, leaving me to shoulder the weight of their deaths? Will this plan work? Is this a trap? Will we run into titan shifters? I have to do everything in my power to protect this cart; it's our only hope of winning this battle.' Levi thoughts bounced around his head as Wall Maria jutted out from the horizon.

A wave of uneasiness passed through the herd, it was too quiet, too perfect. As they drew closer to the wall no titans had been spotted, it was like the cult was giving up the wall to humanity. It was too suspicious. Hanji rode up next to Levi accompanied by three rookies; a brown haired girl named Sasha, a boy with a shaved head named Connie, and Eren's blond friend Armin. The four along with two other rookies were in charge of spraying the 'Stoam' to fill in the hole. The rest of the troops were here to protect them in their mission.

"This is a trap. It is just too good of a situation; don't let your guard down." Levi surveyed the surroundings, noting was out of the ordinary, except the lack of man eating mutated humans. Hanji nodded her head, she was exceptionally quiet. The eyes of the rookies kept darting around. The whole herd was on edge. They were only a few kilometers from the wall when a black flare shot up in the sky, a trail of dark smoke standing out from the vast blue and gray. The flare came from the back of the group soon followed by another and another, until the whole outer ring of the herd had shot up black.

Urging his horse to go faster than it was capable of; Levi noticed the large figures speedily approaching them. The titans ran at full force surrounding the herd. Cries of panic and fear reverberated from the troops as the first of the titans plowed into the herd. Immediately people sprang into action, flying around the titans using their bodies as footholds for the 3D maneuver gear.

A shrill scream pierced the air as a woman was snatched off her horse, her body being slowly crushed by the large hand. She was lifted to the gaping mouth. Two men flew behind the mutated human, slicing deeply into the nape of its neck, a second too late. The titan toppled to the ground, blood flowing down its teeth and chin, the lower half of the women still held tightly in its grasp. Similar situations were accruing all around; some people were fortunate to be saved, others not so lucky. As soon as a titan fell another two took its place. The troops were being overwhelmed.

"Focus on filling the wall!" Levi yelled out to the troops around the cart. They had reached the hole; troops were fighting inside the city stopping the advance of titans that wanted to enter the fight through the hole. "Do not let our comrades lives go to waste!"

The rookies dashed to the cart, grabbing the spray guns and connecting them to back packs full of solution. Slinging them onto their backs the rookies quickly started to fill in the large hole. The 'Stoam' sprayed out a thin black line, slowly expanding a hundred times its size as it came into contact with the air.

Around them comrades fell left and right to the onslaught of the titans, but somehow the titans seemed to be thinning. Levi attached himself to the wall, propelling him high into the air only to dive down. He held his blades together as he spun into a flurry of blades and titan blood. Two titans fell, the back of their necks cleanly cut. He landed onto a tall out of proportion bald titan's head, before felling it and another. A blurry streak of red sped by Levi as Mikasa slayed an oncoming titan. Her eyes were so intense, full of murderous intent.

"Levi, we need you to help the group on the other side of the wall." Hanji bellowed over the clamor of battle. The hole had only been filled a few meters. Levi promptly launched his hooks near the top of the wall, his momentum carrying him over. This side of the wall was being filled by Connie, Sasha, and another rookie. The troops protecting them from the titans had been nearly decimated, only a handful of people were left to defend. Levi instantly went into action the world rapidly spinning by. Blood covered his clothes and matted into his hair, slowly steaming off. The lifeless bodies of titans pilled around him along with the mangled corpses of his fellow comrades.

A wail of terror resounded from behind him, turning to see a small seven meter titan towering over Sasha. Levi leapt toward her, but was too slow. The titan fell back its nape sliced as Sasha, stared in horror at the beast that almost ended her life. The savior landed on the ground, his green hood pulled far over his head, blocking his face from view. The hooded man swiftly swung his blade, decapitating the nameless rookie before he had a chance to react. Sasha and Connie screamed in fright, their faces twisting into purer terror.

Connie rushed at the hooded man, drawing his blades. The man effortlessly sidestepped him, maneuvering his blade in his hand so that it was pointed backwards. The blade pierced straight through Connie's stiff body, with a practiced motion the blade cut upwards until it emerged from the top of the shaved head dripping with blood. The hood fluttered back, revealing a large maniacal grin that split the man's tanned face in two. Connie's body did not even have time to hit the ground before the man was at Sasha. Her brown eyes glazed over in a permanent state of fear as her heart, still beating, was violently ripped from its protective ribbed cage.

Levi's blood ran icy cold as the scene before him unfolded at unnatural speeds. The hooded man slowly focused his attention on the shorter man. Levi barely had time to raise his blade before the man was on top of him. Their blades collided in a sharp clank of metal, fighting for dominance. The green hood blew back. Strikingly beautiful sea-green bore into steel blue. The once determined orbs were overflowing with guilt but his face contradicted his eyes, as he grinned madly.

"E-Eren?" Levi gasped out, the force in his blade wavering slightly. Eren took advantage of Levi's shocked state skillfully nocking the blade out of Levi's hand. Eren's blade was mere millimeters from Levi's neck, his eyes begging for forgiveness.

A large flash of yellow light came from the other side of the wall accompanied by a menacing roar. Eren lowered his blade, shoving something into Levi's free hand as he attached his hooks to the wall and flew out of sight. Another flash of yellow appeared from over the wall as viscous howl followed.

Levi quickly pocketed the small object into his jacket, launching himself to the top of the wall. His feet touched down on the cold stone as he observed the chaos of the battle field. Vapor filled the air as it rolled off the motionless disintegrating titans. The pungent smell of blood invaded his nostrils as the disfigured bodies of the troops littered the ground, staining it a deep red. The majority of the titans had been defeated; however the remaining few were assisting the two titan shifters as they attempted to stop humanity from reclaiming the wall.

The armored titan seized a man as he swung in the air trying to cut the armored skin, crushing the man like he was a grape. The body was then flung toward another attacker, colliding in midair with such force that they made a small crater in the ground when they fell.

The rogue titan was covered in hooks as the troops aimed for the nape of his neck. With inhuman speed, the lines were grasped in his large hands, as he swung the helpless people over his head. The bodies hit the ground with several loud snaps as a majority of the spines were broken.

Levi watched from his vantage point as the troops struggled to harm the two titan shifters but to no avail. Abruptly the two stopped their movements, as if their 'off' button was pushed. The two shook off the remaining troops from their bodies ending in several more causalities. They dug their fingers into the wall climbing it before retreating on the other side.

The battle was over, humanity suffering a great loss in the form of the men who lost their lives. However they reclaimed wall Maria, the hole patched with 'Stoam'. The cleanup was underway as the corpses of the men were collected and accounted for. Levi ripped the breast patches from his fallen comrades.

'The wings of freedom? There is nothing free about this life; we are caged like animals for slaughter.' Levi thought, paying his last respects for the brave men and women.

He stood overlooking the somber scene of the lifeless bodies of the fallen troops, his eyes resting upon the rookies. Connie lay next to Sasha, their corpses being mourned by the few rookies who survived. Connie was sliced in half from his torso and up, blood and guts pooled out of him. Sasha had a gaping hole where her heart should have been before it was forcefully pried out. His mind recalled how Eren had brutally murdered his old comrades without hesitation. Levi was unsure if he could trust Eren anymore, he wanted to believe but his actions were contradicting; Even if those sea-green eyes were full of guilt like he was forced to do what he did.

Remembering the thing Eren gave him, Levi reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a small folded piece of parchment. Levi gingerly opened the folded note, reading the few words.

_Remember our promise._

Levi crinkled the parchment into a ball in his fist, his hands shaking slightly.


	5. Actions Speak Louder

_**Chapter 5: ** _Actions Speak Louder_**** _

Levi was never one to tell people what path in life to choose, every action had a consequence and you had to choose the path you would least regret. At this moment Levi was rethinking the choice to force Eren to join the cult. Humanity had just won a great battle but it was not much of a win due to the fact that Eren showed up and almost single handedly annihilated half the troops. Eren had brutally murdered several comrades; his betrayal of humanity was not just show but the real thing. It is a war and lives are lost all the time in war, sometimes sacrifices must be made.

Yes, he knew that Eren was most likely forcing down his morals in order to keep of the charade of the cult's obedient little dog, but it was still hard for Levi to wrap his mind around Eren's actions. He could still vividly recall the gleaming blade stab, rip, and slice the human flesh and bone; the bright red blood further staining the hands that have now been soaked in blood for too long. He could see the twisted smile split the boy's face as he enjoyed the carnage he brought upon the land. He could feel the cold metal of the blade, that had just claimed lives, rest on the bare skin of his neck. The crazed murderous look of the boy would have been complete if the eyes did not comply. Those eyes, those sea-green eyes that had sparked his bonfire heart, bore into his own, guilt ridden begging for forgiveness. How did the once determined fiery eyes become dull and lackluster? The cult. The cult had changed him, shoving their ideals down his throat as they manipulated his mind.

Levi was definitely regretting his choice, but it was too late to go back. If they exposed everything now humanities chance of actually winning this war would become impossible. He had to place his full trust in Eren that he would complete the mission without losing himself. The cult had changed Eren, retraining him to be the pawn they needed. Everyway Levi inspected the situation, Eren was a lost case. However his gut told him otherwise. Somewhere deep down, Levi wanted to believe with every fiber of his being that the Eren who lit his heart ablaze was still there. The note that Eren left was the last hope Levi clung onto. The paper crumpled up in his trembling grip.

"Levi what happened?" Hanji's voice was abnormally soft full of concern as she gently rested a hand on his shoulder, dragging him out of his thoughts. Levi remained silent.

"Everyone on your side of the wall died but you. All of them were because of titans, but the rookies whose job was to fill in the wall were not. To be more specific they were killed with one of our blades." Hanji awaited an answer. Levi tightened his hand the paper crushing more under the pressure. He took a deep breath regaining his composer.

"Eren" Levi stated in a monotone. "Eren was responsible for their deaths. I was holding off titans, he appeared out of nowhere and was in-n-out before I could react." Gasps echoed throughout the small group that had gathered around their captain.

"That…that cannot be true!" Armin stuttered out in disbelief.

"Unfortunately it is Albert. Eren was already registered as a traitor; this only proves what side he has chosen. Did you not see how many of our comrades he killed in his titan form?" The blond brought both hands to his mouth, tears welling up in his light blue eyes. Mikasa stormed off pulling her red scarf over her mouth, she could not listen to the crap about her best friend and brother anymore.

"You just stood there watching the battle!" An angry shout came from behind Levi. "You were supposed to kill him if he ever turned into a titan and you just watched as our friends died." A distraught young man was held back by his arms as he resisted the restraints.

"My friends died to that monster!" The young man wailed, tears rushing down his face. "WHAT WERE YOU DOING? DO YOU ENJOY WATCHING US DIE? DO YOU EVEN CARE? HUMANITYS STRONGEST MY ASS, YOU CAN NOT EVEN FACE THE MONSTER THAT YOU PROTECTED!"

Levi's restraint snapped. He strode to the man griping his shirt pulling him down to eye level; their noses almost touching. Levi glared at the young man; his voice was low and powerful.

"If you think I do not care about anyone, you are gravely mistaken. I have seen more death then you will ever see in your worst nightmare. I am not a cold heartless bastard that you make me out to be. I have lost friends and comrades over the years to these monstrosities, and have learned to cope with the pain. Every life lost is not for nothing, every single person here knows the risks to fight. The lives lost here helped us reclaim wall Maria. I admit that I did not raise my blade to the traitors, however I am just one man, I cannot single handedly carry humanity to victory. I put trust into my fellow comrades; everyone has the potential to slay titans and titan shifters. So go ahead yell, scream, and cry until you run out of tears but do not accuse me of not caring. I care more than most people ever will." Levi released the shirt before he left the young man.

* * *

The clouds blanketed the night blocking the stars and moon from shinning their light upon the land. Every now and then a stray ray of pale moonlight was able to sneak past the barrier of condensed water vapor floating in the atmosphere. The forest of trees that grew ten times the size of normal trees was dark, the foliage blending into the onyx night. No light was able to pierce through the canopy tonight as Eren cowered in the darkness.

Alone, that is what Eren felt like. Alone as he was tormented by the shadows, they mocked him, abused him, and shunned him. Their faces haunted him, their screams ringing in his ears and their blood still fresh on his hands. Eren curled up, pressing himself into the rough bark of the trunk, wanting to escape the ones who would forever dwell in his conscience. Eren was so deep hiding in his mind that he missed the familiar sound of pressurized air and retracting cords. He took no notice of the soft patter of boots on bark or the look of concern that covered the familiar face.

Levi crouched down in front of the curled up boy, he was trembling as if he was afraid of the night. He looked so vulnerable and innocent hugging is legs to his chest, head buried somewhere in his knees. He gently rested a hand on the fluffy mop of chocolate brown locks. Eren's head snapped up at the contact his body embedding itself farther into the bark. Fear, no, pure terror eclipsed guilt, pain, regret, and dejected sea-green eyes. He resembled a caged abused animal that was beaten into submission, no not resembled, he was caged by the cult his mind beaten into submission. He was so afraid.

Tears welled up in his big eyes as relief washed over him when he saw the man he trusted, the man he loved. Levi removed his gear, placing it neatly in the wide branch as he settled next to Eren. He then pulled the boy onto his lap their faces inches apart. Eren's legs bent over Levis and his arms snaked around Levi's neck. Levi pulled him in closer his hand delicately running through the chocolate locks, the other resting protectively around his hip.

"I-" Levi cut off Eren's weak voice by pushing his head into Levi's shoulder in a tender embrace.

"Do not speak I understand, I am here. I trusted you, I know what you did was necessary. Now just let all of those bottled up emotions go, I will share those sins with you." Levi whispered softly into Eren's ear as the emotions he had forced down bubbled up from within.

The silent sobs turned into grieving wails as his body shook with such force Levi thought he might break into a million pieces. Levi's jacket was damp and dirty but he didn't care, he held onto Eren tighter trying to convey the feeling of safely. Eren was safe; he could be his natural self and not the fake mask of the obedient killing dog the cult thought he was. Strong arms held Eren in their warm embrace as the released his sins of slaughtering his comrades, his friends, and the next closest thing he would have to a family.

Minuets passed before Eren was able to reorganize his emotions. He lifted his head from the now wet shoulder to gaze directly into steel blue. Those same steel blue eyes that were cold, distant, and cautious were now understanding and caring. Levi reached his hands up, cupping Eren's face wiping the last stray tears away with his thumbs. Eren's heart swelled at the action tears threatening to gush out of his swollen and weary eyes.

"Lev-" Eren was once again cut off from speaking. Levi closed the gap between their lips until they gently pressed together. The kiss was short and sweet; enough pressure to send comfort but not enough to be lustful. Levi withdrew resting their foreheads on one another.

"What did I tell you about speaking, Eren?" Levi softly teased. Eren stared at the man whose lips produced his name in such a way that sparks raced down his spine. The man who made him feel safer than anyone or anything could. The man who did not give two shits about his past crimes or actions. The man who made his body long to be embraced. The man who captured his heart. How could this man, this perfect man even remotely tolerate him, let alone share intimate feelings for him.

"Le-Levi how can you stand me? I am a monster that murdered our comrades and…." Eren's shaky voice trailed off. "I almost killed you…"

"Shhh. But you didn't kill me, I am right here and I am not going anywhere." Levi caressed Eren's cheeks, steel blue mixing with sea-green.

"You are not a monster Eren. Yes, you may have titan powers and yes, you may have killed people. But I am almost the same, if not a worse monster than you." Eren's eyes widened slightly.

"But Levi, how are you a monster? You are so perfect." A small scowl crossed Levi's face.

"I am not perfect; actually I am far from perfect. I have killed people in the underground that I inhabited for a good portion of my life. I killed and pillaged, taking lives like I took money from pockets. Not only do I have those peoples blood on my hands, I feel responsible for a majority of the deaths in the survey corps. You know how many people put their full trust into me, and died because of that? I lost squads, friends, and comrades all because I was over glorified to be this perfect soldier. I am just one man, who happens to be talented at killing titans; I am not someone who can carry us to victory. Eren no one is perfect, not even me. So if you are going to call yourself a monster, then call me a monster as well."

Pink dusted Eren's cheeks heating up under Levi's thumbs. Green orbs taking all that the man had to offer. His jet back hair was neatly parted slightly off center, silky locks flowing over the trimmed undercut. The strong jaw line and petite nose added to his allure. The way his striking steel blue eyes pierced through Eren to his soul, was so entrancing. Finally his gaze rested on the thin pale pink lips. Eren wanted to feel them against his once more, no, not wanted but needed. Without thinking Eren captured them with his own; it was forceful and greedy, teetering on the edge of lust.

Levi was surprised at the action but quickly relaxed into the strong kiss, pushing back with equal force. Eren pulled back his breath dripping with desire. All the sorrowful emotions Eren had felt before were drowned out by burning lust. Eren could forget all his sins when he was with Levi and feel emotions and desires he never experienced before. His mind was becoming cloudy as his body yearned to feel, to touch and be touched by Levi.

Levi took notice of Eren's change in behavior; he too was burning for contact and the lack of it was driving him the extremes. Slowly he untied his white cravat making sure that Eren was paying close attention as the accessory was removed as well as the first few buttons undone on his shirt. Levi's neck and collar bone were now exposed to Eren's gaze. Levi heard Eren's breath hitch as he examined the pale flesh.

"Levi I-" A slender finger pressed up against Eren's lips. Levi's hand gently tilted Eren's head toward him, his thumb softly rubbing the pink lips.

"Actions speak louder than words." Levi then attacked like a best ravishing his prey.

Fingers once again tangled into the fluffy chocolate locks, as the other resided on the small of the boys back. Eren moaned slightly into the kiss, his lips parting when he did so. Levi took advantage of the opportunity and forced his tongue into Eren's mouth. Hot and slick, driven on by irrepressible emotion, they rubbed up against each other's tongues violently. Losing himself in the kiss Eren fought back with this tongue, running it along Levi's, fighting for dominance of his mouth. Saliva dripped down his chin as he drew back from the kiss. Eren breathed heavily, trying to gain control over his lungs.

"Breath through your nose, Eren." Again shivers of pleasure raced down his spine by the low voice laced with arousal.

Levi roughly took up Eren's lips again, as Eren moaned in pleaser of the heated kiss. Over and over their tongues twisted together to the point where they could not tell whose was whose. Eren felt the strength slipping from his body starting with his fingertips, while goose bumps dotted his skin. They both needed this, to feel each other, to know that they were still here and not a lost cause. Words could not describe how they felt for each other and the strength of the bond they shared; only actions could. When at last he was released from the long and feverous kiss, Eren looked at the man who drove my mind and body crazy.

Levi's heated gaze sent heat to his cheeks and pooled in his abdomen. Slowly Eren was pushed back so that he lay face up on the large branch with Levi looming over him. Levi was in between Eren's legs, studying the boy underneath him. Chocolate brown locks were ruffled up, stray strands clinging to his tan skin that was flushed a beautiful shade of red. Brilliant sea-green were brimming with passion and desire. The boy's features held the innocence of a child but were mature. Should he really continue these actions? Levi's mind raced through the haze of lust. Why not they both seemed to be craving each other and his reason was long thrown out the window.

Levi unbuttoned Eren's black jacket exposing the black undershirt. Levi ran his fingers down the thinly clothed chest, the shirt not helping the desire to touch. Eren excitedly shivered at the touch, closing his eyes and rolling his head to the side. Levi wanted to feel Eren truly feel him skin to skin. Removing Eren's arms from the jacket, Levi delicately slipped the thin garment off leaving the jacket where it was so Eren's skin was not coming in contact with the bark. Levi's finger tips left a trail of burning desire as they traced the lean outlines of his chest. Heat pooled in his lower extremities as Eren craved for more than just hands to feel him.

Levi leaned down passionately kissing Eren as his hands wandered the exposed tan flesh. Eren moaned into the kiss as Levi gently teased the noticeable bulge in the grey cargo pants with his knee; Eren grinded back seeking more friction from Levi. Continuing with his teasing hands and knee, Levi trailed hot open mouthed kisses along Eren's jawline to the crook in his neck. Eren felt Levi smirk against his skin as Levi bit down on the soft flesh, sucking and licking. If Eren did not have increased healing abilities, the dark purple and red love mark would have lasted a week. Eren grew impatient as the heat in his hips grew hotter. Eren wrenched Levi down into a messy open kiss, tugging on the hem of Levi's shirt seeking more skin on skin contact.

* * *

Eren was comfortably nestled in the crook of Levi's arms; their clothes lay in a discarded mess, Levi's green cloak serving as a makeshift blanket to cover their exposed bodies. Eren's face was still flushed a deep red and they were both covered in sweat as they came down from the highs of their orgasms. Eren radiated pure bliss as he cuddled with the man who made his joy possible. They stayed in a pleasant silence as they embraced recalling the actions of a few minutes ago. Levi interlaced their fingers pulling him closer to his body.

"Eren" Levi broke the silence, his voice smooth as velvet and it was so irresistible that Eren questioned if he wanted to go for another round. "You said before that you had some slight control over titans?"

Eren hummed not quite sure what this was leading to.

"I could tell because titans have been avoiding me and the survey corps near me, is this your doing?"

"Yes."

"So do the others know about this? Can the other shifters control titans as well?" Eren shifted uncomfortably.

"No, the others do not know. Actually I'm sure the only one who has control over titans is Pride, the cult leader. He has control over the shifters too; though it's not a complete control, the shifters cannot resist his order. I think when my father crafted me he changed the formula so that I too had the power to control the titans. From what I know Pride has no idea that I can control titans, and just thinks I am a defective titan in a sense that I could resist his orders. He thinks I am under his control now but I am not. I have to obey his orders or else the mission will fail."

Levi stayed silent for a few moments soaking in the information.

"I see. Do you think you could take control over all of the titans and titan shifters? If you could then they could destroy themselves."

"Hmmm, that might be possible in the future but as of now I'm still learning to control that ability. I will focus more effort on it to try and master titan controlling." Eren stated, raising his head to face Levi. Levi cupped Eren's cheek, kissing the tip of his nose.

"Do not push yourself to the point they find out." Levi then captured Eren's lips once again in a gentle kiss of love. Brushing some of the tousled mess of brown hair from Eren's face, Levi proceeded to place feather light kisses along his jaw; Eren leaned into Levi's touch.

It was a bittersweet moment for them. They had just become one, bonding emotions that no one else would share with them; however they knew that this feeling could only last a short time. Eren had to return to the cult like nothing happened and be the obedient little dog he was and Levi had to return to the survey corps, speaking nothing about their secret rendezvous. They both knew the only time they could truly express their true selves were under a full moon in the giant forests that inhabit the land of wall Maria.

"Eren"

"Mmhm?"

"Remember that no matter what you do, I will trust you with my life."

"And will always trust you with mine, Levi."

* * *

Eren strolled back into the city properly wearing his black and grey uniform, javelin slung across his back. He hoped that no one would catch him at this ungodly hour early in the morning. Unfortunately his luck ran out, when a tall white haired girl approached him.

"There you are, fuck I couldn't find you anywhere!" Eva, the clawed titan, exclaimed.

"You were looking for me?" Eren replied, something deep in his core signaling something was wrong.

"Yeah Pride wanted to see you."

"He does? I did not receive an order to come see him."

"No he just asked me to personally find you, though I do find it strange he did not just ask you."

"Alright thanks for telling me." Eren started to head in the direction of the stone door. Turning back to face Eva he yelled back. "Next time you can't find me, look in the hills. I like to watch the stars."

"Of course you do, is that why you always disappear on full moons?" Eva snorted back, her long white hair moving in the breeze.

"Something like that."


	6. The Final Stand

**_Chapter 6: The Final Stand_ **

It had been two weeks since humanity had reclaimed wall Maria, and two weeks since the night of passion Levi and Eren shared at their secret full moon rendezvous. A small smile rested on Levi's face as he clearly recalled that nights actions: the way the taller boy twitched and shivered under his touch, the delicious sounds of lustful moans that filled the night air, the way Levi's name was cried as he hit a sweet spot, the heated gaze he received from those beautiful heated sea-green eyes, the way Eren's body trembled in secure arms as he was pushed over the edge in an intense moment of passion and lust. Levi remembered it all, every single detail, it was burned into his memories as well as his heart.

The raven haired man shuffled the documents he was supposed to be finishing on his new desk, his mind still lingering on the chocolate haired boy. Eren was all that would occupy Levi's mind when it got the chance to wander. Taking a deep breath he cleared his mind so that he could focus on the paperwork that was gradually piling up; he could dwell on Eren latter. Levi leaned back in his wooden chair, skimming the words on the papers.

The whole core of the survey corps had been moved to wall Maria the past week. The titans that had the misfortune of being trapped within the walls had all been eradicated, allowing humanity to settle back into the land. It was still going to take time for humanity to adjust to living behind wall Maria. Food was becoming an issue due to unkempt crop fields as well as homes for people whose towns had been destroyed. Bodies of all stages of decay from past missions over the last five years were constantly discovered by people relocating. The total body count was unknown but the impact of the amount of deaths was enough to douse people spirits, still many families were finally able to find closer to loved ones that had died or gone missing in action during past missions.

The survey corps in general was on good terms with the masses because of the successful wall Maria expedition. More young men and women were signing up for training than ever before. Titan sightings from wall Maria were scarce, as if the titans were afraid of humanity. No actual attempts to go beyond the wall had occurred however the feeling of no titans boosted the moral of the remaining troops. Overall humanity looked like it had a chance to fight back, and possibly win this war.

Levi put the white quill back in its vase, capping the ink bottle and stacking the completed documents in a perfectly aligned pile. Reaching up he stretched his cramped stiff arms straight toward the stone ceiling. Carefully grasping the completed documents, Levi left the confinement of his room to turn in the work to Erwin and then fetch a nice hot cup of tea.

* * *

Eren flung his hand up just in time to block the oncoming punch from the spiked titan, roundhouse kicking the side of his face in retaliation. The spiked titan was caught off guard by the kick allowing Eren to quickly get in two extremely hard punches to the face. His hands were covered in steam as they regenerated the muscle that was blown off from the punches as steam erupted from the spiked titan's mouth; his lower jaw completely missing. Eren withdrew his hands placing them in a guarding position around his chest, letting out a challenging roar. The spiked titan groaned out a reply then charged using his momentum to completely topple the rouge titan. The spiked titan continuously pounded on Eren's protective arms that were now crossed over his face. Eren swiftly brought his right leg over the spiked titans head, locking the neck in a leg hold, ripping the body off of him. Now gaining the upper hand Eren poked the light blue eyes hard before bashing the head to the ground.

Gluttony surveyed the fight declaring the rouge titan the winner when the spiked titan stopped moving. Eren exited his titan form, tendons ripping way from his skin, as steam filled the air. He jumped down from the decaying form meeting Jakub in the dirt sparing field.

"Too bad, I thought for sure I would have fun playing with your intestines today." The short boy pouted, madness laced his voice as he jammed a dagger into the palm of his hand watching the blood flow down his arm. He jerked it from the flesh amused by the healing wound. Eren patted the boy on his head, ruffling up is light brown hair.

"Like I would let you mess with me." Eren teased. Even though the boy was a complete psychopath that enjoyed torturing his victims to the point where their bodies could no longer be identified as bodies, Eren in some twisted way enjoyed the smaller's company.

"Well it is not like I got to have fun with our last toy." Jakub's light blue eyes never left his wound as it closed up, the blood leaving a dark red trail down his arm to his elbow where it dripped onto the ground.

"Maybe next time you can have fun, since I already had mine." Eren laughed slightly, walking away to go clean his body from the sweat and grime that covered his skin from sparing.

Eren made his way to his housing which he shared with Jakub. The house was a human sized two story building with two separate sleeping rooms with attached wash rooms, a kitchen and dining room, and a living space. Eren slipped off his black combat boots, resting them on a shelf next to the door, wandering into the kitchen to snatch a vibrant green apple off the wooden counter top. Rolling the round fruit in his hands, Eren ascended the stairs to his room. Tossing the fruit on his neatly made bed, he quickly shrugged off his clothing and turned on the water to the tub.

As he waited for the water to fill, Eren inspected his appearance in the mirror. He was a few centimeters taller then he last remembered and his overall completion looked more mature. His skin was a shade darker and his muscles were more defined. His sea-green eyes were cold and lackluster slightly covered by his chocolate brown locks that were in need of a trim. Tentatively he ran a finger along his reflection. It did not look like Eren, the hallowed out killing machine that stared at him was not him. It was not the Eren that was dead set on exterminating every last titan on earth with a fire that burned so bright in his eyes that it could blindly lead on men with hope. No, the Eren that stared back was the Eren humanity needed even though they did not know; the Eren which would be the ultimate betrayer and savor to humanity.

Eren looked away in disgust at how low his appearance was, no wonder the titans trusted him; he was one of them now.

* * *

The full moon cast its soft light onto the landscape, illuminating a lone horse and rider as they approached the dense forest of gigantic trees. The rider dressed in dark colors blended into the dark forest as he ventured through the roots of the trees. Dismounting his horse the rider removed two jagged spikes, griping one in each hand, and clicked his boots together so that the sharp spikes hidden in the toes protruded. Stabbing the trunk, the dark figure climbed up the tree and into the night air.

Levi landed with a soft thump onto the wide branch as he inspected the surrounding trees for any sign of Eren. He was fairly worried that Eren would get caught at the newly reclaimed wall. Since their meeting spot was now deep in human territory, the chance of getting discovered had dangerously skyrocketed. A shifting shadow drew his attention as a dark figure climbed onto the branch.

Levi was roughly forced against the trunk as Eren hungrily captured his lips. Levi relaxed into the kiss, fighting back with just as much force. Hands greedily explored each other's bodies seeking skin on skin contact. Eren pulled away to look down at the beautiful raven haired man; steel blue uniting with sea-green. His arms ended up slung around the raven's neck as his waist was tightly encircled by the older's arms.

"Well hello." Levi mussed, he was actually quite surprised by Eren's greeting, but that did not mean he did not enjoy it. Levi loved to see the younger male be so aggressive; it showed that the original Eren was still there.

Levi's lips were once again captured before he could say anymore. Lust pooled in him as his hands found their way under Eren's cloths. Eren's skin burned with passionate desire as Levi's cool fingers ran up his spine. Eren's fingers tangled themselves in the raven's hair as he led the lusty kiss. Eren pulled back so that their lips barely brushed one an others.

"We can talk later." Eren's voice was dripping with desire as he rolled his hips against Levi's to emphasize his point.

Levi did not need to be told twice as he smirked against Eren's lips swiftly spinning them around so that Eren was now the one pined against the trunk. Eren let out a light gasp as his back hit the hard bark, knocking the wind out of him as his lips were roughly claimed. A tongue traced his bottom lip asking for entrance, which Eren gladly gave. Levi's tongue desperately searched the cavity, tracing over every part he could find. Their tongues soon intertwined and a low moan escaped Eren as his legs wrapped around Levi's waist. The kiss sent Eren to ecstasy as feelings of desire and love were conveyed.

Eren's body grew weaker and weaker to Levis attacks on his mouth and soon Eren could feel the heat in the lower part of his body making his pants tighter. Grinding his hips as he sought more friction, Levi let out a small needy groan as the two growing bulges rubbed against each other. Eren rolled his head to the side moaning shamelessly, granting Levi perfect access the soft skin. Sinking his teeth into the tender flesh, Levi marked Eren, claiming him as his own. Even though the love bite would soon disappear, Eren still felt his heart swell at the thought of being marked for all to see.

* * *

"So, how is the titan controlling going?" Levi asked.

Levi was settled against the trunk, Eren's head resting on his lap. The younger looked up at the older as he rubbed small sensual circles along his exposed belly. Levi's hair was a mess from Eren's wandering fingers during their session of love making and his steel blue eyes were still filled with passion.

"Better." Eren hummed, enjoying the sweet moment of pillow talk. Levi's other hand stoked Eren's chocolate brown locks, fingers genitally running along his scalp. "I am able to keep the majority of titans a few kilometers from the walls; however I need more practice if I want to control the masses in a battle."

"I have noticed. There are rarely any titan sightings from the walls these past few weeks. Keep up the good work, but do not stress yourself out."

"I know."

The two fell into a comfortable silence, relishing in each other's company. They knew their days could be limited so they made sure to cherish each moment they shared as if it could be their last. Finally breaking the silence Levi tilted Eren's head so that they were gazing into each other's eyes.

"Should we change our meeting spot? We are now deep in human territory and I am afraid of these meetings being found out by the general population or the survey corps." Concern laced Levi's voice as he spoke. Eren's features relaxed as he stroked Levi's cheek.

"If you feel it is necessary we can, though I have no problem meeting here. Last time you have to venture deep into my territory, now I have to venture deep into yours; the danger was always there now it has just switched targets." Eren tugged Levi down into a soft kiss.

"I would rather risk titan attacks than humanity finding out I am banging its biggest traitor."

* * *

A full month passed as humanity grew accustomed to living life behind the reclaimed wall. Small expeditions by the survey corps outside of wall Maria found reminiscence of old human settlements from over a century ago. With the current titans staying far away from the walls, Erwin decided that if the titans kept their distance over the next few months' humanity should start to rebuild small out posts outside the walls. The idea was initially met with much resistance however the lack of titan appearances is slowly helping the idea catch on. Unknown to all of humanity, with the exception of Levi, Eren was the one behind the lack of titans around the walls. Everyday his control over the titans gradually grew.

It was the night of the next full moon and as Eren agreed they decided to move their rendezvous outside the walls. Levi had no idea what would be a good place to meet so he let Eren chose. Eren would come to the wall just this one time to show him were to meet, after that it would be up to Levi to safely find the meeting spot every full moon.

Levi impatiently tapped his foot against the cold stone on the wall's walk way. Levi was extra carful that he was not followed nor that guards would be patrolling this part of the wall at this time. The moon illumined the landscape allowing Levi see the large humanoid figure approach the wall. Its glowing green eyes pierced the night as they searched the wall. Feel falling from the wall Levi quickly attached his hooks to the titans shoulder and back swinging up to land gently on its brown locks. Swiftly setting into a comfortable siting position, he grabbed onto strands of hair to keep himself steady as the titan wandered off into the night.

Eren had decided that an abandoned shack in the middle of a thicket of spruce trees would be the best place to meet. Raising a hand for Levi to ride on, Eren gently brought the man to the ground before curling into a fetal position and climbing out of the neck of his titan form; steam saturating the night air.

Jogging over to Levi, who had already broken into the shack, he hugged the man close to his chest kicking the door closed. Humming in delight, Levi cupped Eren's face pulling him into a light kiss.

"Like-this-place?" Eren asked in between kisses. Levi glanced around before capturing those soft lips once again.

"It works."

* * *

Months passed without a single titan sighting, thus outposts outside the wall were constructed. They were built fairly quickly due to Hanji's invention of 'Stoam', so two cylindrical towers were built five kilometers from each wall town. Humanity started to get comfortable with the idea that the titans had been scared off, but underlining all the comfort, some just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Life was going well for humanity, too well.

Eren was curled up into Levi's arms after a rough round of love making. Eren's hips were sore but the pain would soon fade, like always. Levi comfortably massaged the small of Eren's back to try and ease the pain. Levi could tell something was bothering the young male but waited for him to speak.

"Levi" Eren spoke, turning to look the man he loved in the eye. Levi cocked an eyebrow in response.

"Pride is planning an attack. I do not know when this attack will be nor do I know where it will be. All I have been informed of is to prepare for a battle, a final battle. Pride seemed to be bored with humanity, so an 'all or nothing' battle is what he wants to see humanity put on. Levi, do not get too comfortable with the situation that humanity has, the cult could strike at any moment. I do not have full control over the titans yet. I have been working extremely hard on this ability and only about sixty percent of the non-shifting titans are under my control. So far I have ordered them to follow Pride's orders but mine reign supreme."

Inhaling a deep breath, Levi pinched the bridge of his nose letting the grim news soak in.

"Great, this is just great news." His voice was laced with sarcasm.

"Levi." Eren was concerned as he closed the gap between their lips, gently brushing them together.

"I am sorry Eren, this is just terrible news. Are you sure you do not have any timeline to when this attack may happen?"

"No, only that it seems to be soon or else Pride would not have mentioned it." Levi embraced Eren tighter, their bare skin touching. Eren's face heated up as a small blush tinted his cheeks. Placing butterfly light kisses all over the younger's concerned face; the older shifted their position so that he was on top.

"Well then" Levi started, looming over Eren. "Better go another round. Never know if this might be the last time I can hold you."

* * *

The sun beat down on the barren earth, plant life was scarce in this area, and the only shade was from the newly constructed towers that jutted out from the ground. A small young male with bright blue eyes and golden hair cut like a bowl, sighed for the nth time that day. It was hot, unbearably hot and the shade the tower provided did not help with the dry heat that seemed to make him feel like beef jerky. Behind him a taller girl with raven hair that fell just past a red scarf and taupe eyes, brought a jug of clean water to the boy. He accepted it gratefully, drinking the clear cool water helped somewhat parch his thirst.

"Thank you Mikasa." Armin mumbled, turning his attention back to watching the landscape for titans. It is always the same every day, no titans.

"I miss him." Mikasa's eyes softened as she pulled the scarf over her mouth. She truly missed her stubborn brother, who made quick decisions without thinking about the consequences. She longed for his warm bear hugs and his sea-green eyes that could fill anyone with hope. When Eren had betrayed humanity, she lost it, blaming the commanding officers. How could the brother she knew so well go against everything he stood for? When Eren showed up again and killed her fellow, his fellow, comrades in battle with no remorse, she could not believe the sight. The Eren she saw was not the Eren she once knew, no this new Eren saw friends as foe and foe as friends. Maybe she really did not know who Eren truly was but that thought was brushed aside when Captain Levi started disappearing once a month. A murdering Eren, an almost pleasant Captain Levi, and an absence of titans; something did not add up.

"As do I." Armin ignored the landscape he was supposed to watch as he pulled the girl into a comforting embrace. They stood there in each other's arms as the day dragged on.

Suddenly Mikasa's eyes narrowed and she broke free of Armin's grip to inspect the oddity that had caught her attention. A wavy mass of black appeared on the horizon and it was steadily growing larger. Dread pooled in her stomach as she rushed up the grey stone steps to the top of the tower. Armin quizzically stared at what Mikasa was once looking at, eyes widening in terror. He hurried after her to warn humanity of what they feared the most; titans.

Each tower top had a large brass bugle only to be used in an emergency such as a mass titan attack. Along with a warning horn, each tower had an oversized flare gun that was to be shot in accompaniment with the horn. Each colored flare represented a different emergency: green for non-titan emergencies, yellow for minimal titan emergencies, red for multiple titan emergencies, blue for abnormal titan emergencies, and purple for worst case scenario mass titan attacks. Each flare would explode into sparking flares, so that if fired at night the walls and other towers could see the flare.

Mikasa was loading the oversized flare gun with a purple canister as Armin inhaled deeply pressing his lips to the end of the horn. The blaring bellow of the warning bugle echoed throughout the surrounding land. Mikasa lit the fuse for the gun, stepping back as the purple flare whizzed high into the sky. A long vibrant tail of violet smoke trailed behind the soaring projectile. Just as it reached its peak it exploded into a thousand sparking violet flames, almost like a fiery flower. Moments after the flare was shot up, another horn joined Armin's warning humanity of the dangers it was about to face. Soon the whole land was filled with the melancholy bellows of the bugles and the sky stained purple from the flares.

Mikasa and Armin hastily ended their warnings after they knew their message was known by humanity. The ground was gradually moving underfoot, growing shakier the closer the massive army of titans came to the tower. The two speedily left the tower as they jumped on the backs of their horses, forcing the beasts to run breakneck speeds toward the walls.

The first wave of titans passed the now topped towers only a few minutes after Mikasa and Armin had left. Deafening roars, groans, and moans flooded the ears of all living creatures as the riled up titans charged toward the thing that separated them and their snack.

* * *

Levi was rudely woken from his nap by the titan warning bugles that signaled an emergency. Groaning in frustration, he hurried to change into his military outfit and attach his gear. It was just his luck the day after Eren had warned him of a mass titan attack, it actually happened. This was not the ideal situation for he had about two hours of shut-eye and his body was still slightly depleted from fucking Eren into an old matrass practically the whole night. Agitated, Levi stormed to the top of wall Maria to see just how slim humanity's chance of being victorious was; by the look of things, it was highly unlikely that humanity would survive.

Hundreds of normal and abnormal titans surrounded the wall, their bodies pressing up against the cold stone as they clawed at it. Amidst the sea of mutated humans stood four figures, three that humanity recognized oh-so-well and one not so much, but by the description Eren had provided Levi could guess who it was.

News of three other titan armies surrounding the three other wall Maria towns, told humanity that they were spread too thin and were too outnumbered to ever dream of a small chance of winning. Eren was right when he said that Pride, the leader of the cult, wanted to force humanity in a corner for one last battle. Erwin faced the remaining survey corps of a few hundred men and women.

"Men, I know the situation is bleak and that this may be our last day upon this land, but do not let that discourage you. Well will continue to fight for our families, friends, neighbors, townsfolk, and comrades. We will stand tall and proud in the face of death, challenging it because we will not be so easily defeated. Raise your blades high and strike down the enemy and fight for the right to be free. Fight for our freedom! So let them come. LET THEM COME AND TASTE THE BLADES OF HUMANITY. LET THEM COME AND FACE THEIR DEATHS. LET THEM COME, FOR WE WILL SHOW THEM AND ALL OF HUMANITY HOW HARD WE FIGHT FOR OUR FREEDOM! THAT WE WILL NEVER SURENDER, NOT EVEN IN OUR LAST BREATHS WILL WE SURENDER!" With that Erwin placed a fist over his heart, the final salute to the brave souls whose lives will most certainly end today. The troops saluted back, they had no time to grieve over the somber situation, they could only fight with every once of their being until no one remained.

"It is strange how humans go to the extremes to avoid death, yet when they are faced with nothing but death they do the most unpredictable things. I could attack now, but what enjoyment will I get if we do not at least humor the humans as they face death." Pride commented, watching the tall blond human give his speech with amused eyes. The colossal titan, armored titan, and rouge titan stood quietly next to their leader, awaiting orders. The rouge titan shifted uncomfortably in-between the two other betrayers of humanity. Eren's mind was a jumble of panicked nerves, humanity's fate rested on his shoulders this very moment one wrong move and all was doomed.

"Children go play. We will join you in time." Pride ordered, excitement twisted in his voice as the colossal titan and armored titan obeyed, charging at the wall.

_Eren in his titan form descended a flight of large stone steps that opened up into the great circular hall. Huge torches lined the walls casting an eerie flickering light throughout the space. The floor was covered in intricate designs of eyes wrapped by vines. The six figures that occupied the room stared intensely at Eren._

_"There is my obedient little dog; I was starting to think you needed to be broken again." Pride grinned, his warped words laced with delight. Eren kneeled down, bowing his head in a sign of respect._

_"I have called you here because I am planning on attacking humanity and ending this game once and for all. You see I grow bored of these futile attempts to win, humanity has not learned to work as one, to be truly united. Sadly they never will but as a final test I will challenge humanity to a battle. We will surround them, constricting them of all hope. It will be fun to watch them break under pressure in the face of death. Don't you agree?"_

_Eren merely nodded, too afraid his words would give away his true feelings._

_"Wonderful. Because you were once 'Humanity's Hope', I am giving you the special privilege to strike the final blow when the time comes. I cannot wait to see what faces humanity will make when they see their fate sealed by your actions."_

Glowing green eyes watched as the first of the troops rocketed off the wall, meeting the two titan shifters head on. The final battle that determined humanities fate had begun.


	7. Forget Me Not

**_Chapter 7: Forget Me Not_ **

Every atom in his body screamed at him to attack, to fight for freedom, to strike down the evil; it was sheer will power that kept him from lashing out because the time was not right, at least not yet. Glowing green eyes watched as humanity's last line of defense fought to protect their species. The colossal titan was prioritized over the armored titan and the non-shifting titans as a majority of the remaining survey corps dodged his slow attacks, bouncing from the wall back to his massive form. Because his form was so huge and slow, lacking protective skin, he was attacked the most. The next target was the armored titan, only the best out of the remaining troops dared to attack him because he was so hard to take down due to his plate like patches of skin and overall greater statistics. Focusing his weak points; elbows, back of the knees, armpits, and eyes, the blurs of skilled defenders sliced the unprotected muscle.

Levi attached his hooks to the back of the armored titan, followed closely by Mikasa. His raven hair flattened back by the wind as he quickly spun around the right arm as it swatted the air. Rotating in midair he brought down his blades cutting deeply into the muscle of the unprotected shoulder, making the arm sag slightly. Taking advantage of the injured arm Levi flew to the unprotected juncture where the forearm meets the bicep, slicing deeply into the flesh. Mikasa replicated his actions on the opposite arm, rendering the armored titans arms useless for the time being or until it regenerated. Armin whizzed by the glowing yellow eyes jamming a blade deep into the left eye before he was out of range. As he went to attach his hooks to the wall, his gear malfunctioned and only one hook was deployed at an undesired angle. Mikasa had just sunk her blade deep into the soft knee tissue on the back of the armored titans left leg avoiding the crazed normal titans that swarmed around the two shifters, when she noticed Armin falling.

A large fourteen meter titan with beady eyes and greasy brown hair plucked the small boy out of the air. Armin hung by the cable of his gear as other titans crowed around the snack. Mikasa spun in a flurry of blades and blood as the nap of the titan was deeply cut, but she was too late. As soon as the titan holding Armin was slain four other titans fought over him, each had a tight hold on a limb. A sharp scream ripped out of Armin's throat as he was tugged in four separate directions, his limbs popping out of their sockets until he was torn apart. His bloody body was a jigsaw puzzle of parts, intestines exploding from the pressure. Mikasa withdrew attaching herself to the wall, trying to comprehend the scene that just unfurled before her eyes.

She had lost her parents at an early age, then lost her adoptive family soon after, followed by Eren's betrayal, and now her only remaining family member was dead; torn apart from every angle. Mikasa was alone. Cold seeped through her bones as she desperately tried to rid the feeling from her body. She hiked up the old weather worn red scarf Eren had given her all those years ago, pleading the warmth to return to her. But the warmth was gone and the cold was settling in. Narrowing her eyes in despair she recklessly threw herself at the sea of normal titans, her goal: to kill as many titans as possible to get vengeance on her family.

Eren watched as the colossal titan was slowly being over whelmed, not without the loss of many a good soldier, but he was now on the defensive. As for the armored titan he was faring better than his comrade, however his arms had been rendered useless when the tendons in his elbows had been severed. Due to the fact that the armored titan was at the same level as the hundreds of other normal titans made the process of actually truly cornering the two shifters an impossible feat. Even if humanity could take down one or even both of the shifters they still had to face the hundreds of normal titans, Eren, Pride, and the three other titan armies on the wall; an unimaginable task.

Out of the corner of his eye, Eren glanced at Pride; his eyes were brimming with amusement as he watched the show unfold before him. His hairy hands twitched with anticipation, his facial expression was almost giddy.

'He is distracted, and they are occupied with the troops.' Eren thought, inhaling deeply through his nose.

Eren let every pent up emotion he had felt over the past year go, flooding his body. The emotions he had to shove down up until this point burst forth as if a great damn had broken; the misery of his mental state, the agony of his battered body, the humiliation of being an obedient dog, the disgust of having to follow ever twisted order, the sorrow of his fallen comrades, and the rage directed at the mutated warped creatures that were destroying his life. They consumed his being down to his core fixating on one idea; destroy every titan. There was no room for any thought but that one idea as it dominated every fiber in his body.

Eren's titan form abruptly changed, his muscles split as pulsating red veins cracked his skin, his eyes morphed from glowing green to flaming red. Unhinging his jaw, Eren threw back his head releasing a deafening malicious roar that silenced the land; it was so powerful that it was heard throughout all of humanity. All action on the battle field around wall Maria ceased, every human and titan remained motionless as the ear-splitting roar continued. Terror crashed down on humanity as they feared the inhuman monstrosity that was the altered rogue titan. When the roar concluded an unnatural silence fell upon the land. The stillness was suddenly ended when a tremendous calmer of grunts and groans swamped the air. Eren swiftly turned on Pride, his hard fist slugged the hairy titan straight in the jaw, dislodging it as he flew back by the sheer force of the punch. Eren did not so much as wince as he charged toward the fallen figure, steam hissing from his gaping mouth.

Humanity was baffled as they watched the majority of the titans glow red and turn on one another. It was as if they had gone mad, forgetting that humanity was their target. Levi, like the larger part of the troops, hung lifelessly off the wall, awe struck at Eren's control over the titans. Levi knew Eren was strong, but he had under estimated how powerful he truly was. He remembered what Hanji had said about the titan Eren's father created.

_He spent years tweaking the chemical formula to get a titan form that did not listen to the leader, it was different than the other titans because its abilities come from the emotions the shifter feels; the stronger the emotions the stronger the titan._

Levi's spirit was renewed knowing now humanity had a fighting chance to actually win this war; it was not just a small chance in a dream. It was all because of Eren, he had followed through with the mission pulling of the double agent betrayal.

"FORGET THE NORMAL TITANS, FOCUSE ON THE TWO TITAN SHIFTERS!" Levi yelled to the troops as the shifters hastily moved through the sea of battling titans to where Eren and Pride clashed.

The troops acknowledge the command, confused but invigorated by the sudden shift in the tide of war. Without the pressure of the hundreds of titans the two betrayers of humanity were outnumbered. Latching their hooks to the two intelligent titans, the remaining survey corps swarmed them completely dominating them. The overwhelmed titans, fought back as hard as they could but to no avail as their human forms were slowly exposed. The colossal titan was the first to fall; his massive body crushed several titans when it slammed face down into the hard ground. Berholt was violently ripped from the back of the titan's neck, hot steam engulfing the air as the titan fizzed into nothing. Skin was missing on his face and his legs were missing, having been torn off when he left his titans form. Cold blades rested upon his body, daring him to move and lose his life before he could transform again. The armored titan was grounded as well, Reiner ending in a similar situation as his comrade.

Eren clenched his fits, steam rolling of the recently regenerated knuckles as he stared down Pride. Pride was covered in steam from the multiple beatings he had taken from the enraged rouge titan.

"I see, you never listened to my commands from the beginning. You have definitely exceeded my expectations; humans truly do act in the most unpredictable ways. Congratulations on giving humanity its last hope, however it will still be for nothing." Pride mused, his grin twisting in the most unpleasant way.

Eren grunted deep and feral at the cult leader's comments. He charged at the hairy titan, letting rage blind him with his one goal. Pride barely side stepped the oncoming fist, however Eren was not so easily thwarted as he spun on his heel bringing his leg in a strong round house kick. Caught off guard Pride landed on his knees, before he could counter Eren was on top of his back shoving him hard into the ground. Roaring Eren latched his wide mouth to the nap of Prides neck shredding the hair, skin, and muscle away to reveal a body of a man who hasn't left his form in over a century.

_The titan lifted her body high into the air in its iron grip and snapped her back in two._

Clawing out the body Eren lifted the body tightly in his iron grip high into the air, snapping the back in two.

_Her body stopped fighting and lay limp. She was then slowly raised up to its gaping mouth._

The body of the once great leader of the titan cult lay lip as it was slowly raised up to Eren's open jaw.

_Teeth clashed together as blood spilled down the titans chin onto his chest. Eren could not tear his fear stricken eyes away from the seen, as he watched his own mother be eaten by the titan._

Teeth clashed together as blood spilled down his chin and onto his chest as Eren completely severed the head from the body so that no regeneration could be possible.

Immediately all the titans stopped their actions, their bodies steaming into the air, leaving the earth for good. Around the walls the remaining titan shifters, scrambled to flee the scene as their titan abilities were lost. The two betrayers of humanity, Berholt and Reiner, stopped regenerating their missing limbs, blood flowing freely from the now un-healing wounds. Berholt panicked when the blood drained from his body, his breaths became shallow and his skin pale. He took on last breath before his dead limp body fell, cold onto the ground. Reiner saw Berholt pass away from too much blood loss, this only sealed his fate. Deciding to take matters into his own hands, Reiner lunged for the nearest blade nocking it out of its owner's hands. Before anyone could react, he had drawn the blade swiftly across his exposed neck. He lay lifeless as blood pooled around the flayed neck that hung together only by the spinal cord. Deep within the walls hidden underground heavily guarded by military police, the large chained crystal shattered into a thousand pieces. The young women trapped inside fell to the ground, fear clearly written on her face as the events of humanity flowed into her now normal body. Soon the walls that had caged humanity for so long started to shake and crumble, steam erupting from beneath the stones, as the titans that forged the core of the walls faded into nonexistence.

Cheers resounded through the steam filled air as the realization of freedom washed over the people. Everyone was confused how they had miraculously won; why did the titans turn against each other, why did the rouge titan seem to have control of the titans, why did the titans just disappear? The questions could be asked later but for now the people celebrated. The war was over and all the titans were gone. Humanity no longer had to live in fear of eminent annihilation. Humanity was free from the titans. They were finally free.

As the steam cleared the hearts of the brave men and women, who had just fought the battle of miracles, dropped to the ground as a lone figure still loomed above the land scape. The figure's messy mop of brown flowed slightly in the breeze, fiery red turning back to glowing green, the skin coving the pulsating red veins; The last titan. The rouge titan stood tall on the now barren battle field as he gazed at the now free land that humanity could claim without fear.

Shouts and cries rose up as several troops dashed toward the lone titan. Fear, rage, and betrayal washed through them.

"Kill the final betrayer of human kind!"

"Bastard you killed my comrades; it's time to face your fate!"

"The last titan, kill it!"

Mikasa slightly relived at the sight of Eren, attempted to halt their charges trying to talk reason, even going as far as to clash blades against a few of them.

The rouge titan just stood there, as if he was waiting for someone to come get him, to comfort him, congratulate him on a job well done. A small blur of black hair sprinted past the leaders of the charge, latching his hooks onto the shoulder and back of the still titan, swinging to the top of its head. The troops all ceased their advances as 'humanity's strongest' stood tall and proud on the last remaining titan. Blades drawn he faced away from the rest of the population, taking all his concentration to keep a calm demeanor. Gently taping his foot on the titan's head, the titan tilted its head down clearly showing the nap of the neck. Swiftly and gracefully the blade sunk into the flesh cleanly cutting the skin and muscle. Eren's body became visible from its fleshy embrace. Looping an arm under the young man, Levi ripped Eren from his titan form, tendons peeling away from his skin. It was hot, unimaginably hot, but Levi did not care. The titan limply fell forward, steam flooding the air. Levi held the boy tight in his arms as he skillfully landed on the ground after leaping of the falling titan form; the steam hiding their figures for a small window of time.

Eren leaned down capturing the soft lips of the shorter man, conveying such tender love that both their hearts skipped a beat. Levi reluctantly withdrew as Eren caressed his cheek with his hand. The steam started to clear too soon for the couples liking. Levi roughly kicked Eren to the ground, drawing his blades one final time. His nonchalant façade cracked as tears slowly pooled in his eyes. Mikasa cried out in alarm, eyes widening in realization as she speed toward her Captain and brother.

_A lone finger traced the outline of Levi's strong jaw as affectionate sea-green eyes mingled with steel blue._

_"Levi, I would like to request one final promise."_

_Levi raised an eyebrow quizzically._

_"You have to promise me, and you cannot break it. Please Levi, I need to know this." Eren stated, his voice shacking ever so slightly._

_"Alright I swear I will follow through with it, but what did I just agree to?"_

_"If by some miracle humanity has won and my efforts did not go to waste, I want you to end my life. I know there is no way humanity will overlook my crimes and betrayal. Even if they did, I would be the last remaining titan. I promised to the world that I would destroy every last titan, and I am not an exception. The titan times need to end, if I am the ending point then so be it. I highly value promises and take them extremely serious. You also promised humanity that if I were to ever lose control you would be the one to take my life. I have betrayed humanity."_

_"Eren there is no way I can follow through-"_

_"Please Levi I need you to kill me, I would rather die by your hand than any other person in humanity. "_

Levi raised the blades up, the sunlight gleaming off the cool metal. Eren softly smiled up at Levi, sea-green uniting with steel blue for one last time. Eren's lips moved whispering something only Levi could hear. The blade sliced through the air, embedding itself with a heart wrenching gulch.

* * *

Soft light from the round moon reflected off the uneven water. Small waves crashed against the golden sand, rushing far up the beach before they surged back into the massive expanse of water. The sand was not left calm for too long as another wave crashed onto it. A genital breeze wafted ashore, carrying the salty fragrance of the ocean with it. Long beach grass adorned the nearby cliffs swaying to the light wind.

The white moon illuminated a solitary figure the cliff, gazing at the sea far below. Silky black locks fluttered over a buzzed undercut as the sea breeze caressed the man's face. The man stood there watching the serene scene of the ocean with steel blue eyes full of longing. Gradually the moon started its decent in the night sky, heading toward the watery horizon, yet the man had not moved. To the east the black of the night was lightening, signaling the dawn's arrival.

Taking one last look at the small waves crashing onto the golden shoreline, the man placed his back to the water heading toward the outline of a meter tall stone. Halting at the foot of the stone, he knelt down, bowing his head in respect to the dead. A lone tear rolled down his face, falling to the ground where it was absorbed by the earth. Gingerly the man touched the weather worn stone, fingertips barely resting on the cool surface. He gently laid down a single stem of flowers before reluctantly standing. The multiple five pedaled baby blue and violet flowers, known as 'Forget me not', leaned against the sea aged grave stone. A slight smile ghosted the lips of the man as he took in the scene, fading away into the night after the memory was embedded in his mind.

"I will never forget you, the one I love."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is the end. Cliché, I know.
> 
> My idea for this was to kill as many characters as possible. I total we have: Jean, Connie, Sasha, Armin, Berholt, Reiner, And last but...well last Eren. Congratulations seven people died.
> 
> I know this was supposed to be a longer story but I decided that it needed to end like this. Thank you for reading, reviewing, and everything. I hope you enjoyed the story. Thank you for reading.


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